Grex
by Grex
Summary: If your life crumbled under you every single step you took and there was only one little light in your existence worth fighting for; I think you'd do the same as I did, but who knows maybe I'm just crazy. Somehow that seems to be a thing in my city.
1. The Voices

I do not own the character to this story. I only own my OCs. If it is relatable to any other work then I'm sorry for your imagination having to put up with this.

The other characters and places are from the wonderful people from DC Comics. :)

A thank you to Ellie13x, you inspired my writing. :)

A cold night. This is not new in Gotham. The streets are slick with rain and the filth from humanity. A women cowers in front of a tall thickset man. "You would have thought, that if they were going to hit women, they would do it inside. But no lets just go outside, so everyone and their mother can hear her scream." A figure in shimmery grey-black spandex mutters to herself. The leather of her corsets heaving with her breathing. The black hair looks to be shaved on the top and sides, just leaving a strip of wild curly hair on the left side. Her suit ripples in the street light as she drops three stories onto the guys shoulders. She tucks and rolls and starts sprinting up the street to where she can no longer hear the other woman's screams. "Stupid Batman, makin' me work twice as hard." She mumbles

The costumed savior runs up the wall of an alley vaulting up onto the roof. Running straight into a tall broad chest. She yelps, then does the standard stop drop and roll, around his thick-set legs and gets tangled in a black cape. She twists and brings the Dark- Knight to his knees. Unluckily for her she was wrapped like a caterpillar.

"Errm, this is an awkward question. But could you unwrap me, **pweease**?" She pouts, knowing she sounds like a child. But still mockingly respectful. Don't make the man- bat angry Ibis dear! She thinks to herself.

He stands quickly. She rolls out of the cape. Batman pins her to the ground, pressing on her collar, luckily. "It could have been her neck." She thinks, slightly queasy with the thought of strangulation.

"What is your...name?" He growls into her face. Hoping for the intimidation factor to work in his favor.

"You can call me...**Grex**."

* * *

Ibis Crow pov

1999 The day he came into my life, was a normal college day. Classes were in the morning and homework went in to the late afternoon. I was going about the tedious process that women have gone through since the invention of hair pins. Twist the hair up, pull that obnoxious flip down. It's a process that my room mate did not understand. She, as usual, had been done and was about to barge her 5 foot 3 inch self in to drag my 5''6' form out of the shared bathroom.

"Five minutes!" I yell

"That's what you said five minutes ago" Alice says while thumping her head on the door.

"There, perfect!" I smile at my long wavy black hair, now perfect. My blue eyes highlight the edges of my knife's edge face.

Alice was my opposite in every way. Gorgeous blonde hair styled in an edgy pixie cut. Dark blue eyes next to my icy ones. She liked to think problems through, I acted on instinct. She was short and blond, I was the tall dark beauty, she got called the dreaded 'cute'. We often were compared to Sherlock and Watson.

We lived in a dinghy apartment just outside the Narrows. So technically it was safe. As safe as it gets in Gotham anyways. After classes we went off to our respective jobs, hers at the library and mine at the theater. I have always liked the acts. The putting on of masks that no one thinks twice abo ut. Tonight was "The Phantom of the Opera" a favorite of mine. I was director of the most important... Spotlight. People in drama were always confused when they asked what role I was. It's like they thought that the light was just attracted to them.

"What! There's a job for that?" The idiots asked of me.

**Why have we not crushed them?**

_Shh, not now! I'll talk later._

I moved into Gotham thinking it would be a good change from Georgia. "You want some ruckus in the city, do you my dear' my father would chuckle when I told him my idea. Of course I was only 5 at the time. I knew nothing of life. I was innocent.

**Not true, we knew... Enough.**

_Shh, I told you, later._

Us Crows have always been ramshackle in our planing skills. As I said before, all instinct.

Heading out the door always required a feat of gymnastics leaping over her pots and cats, my half unpacked boxes. Finally the door. The door. Our apartment door was not there at the beginning. I installed a dark green door into the empty frame when we moved in. It was the only door Alice and I could agree, sorta, on. It creaked on old hinges. But we were of the opinion that was a good thing. No one could ever sneak silently into the room.

**It's loud enough to wake a dead dog.**

_Well yes, but that's not the point is it though._

**Is there a point?**

Outside the screaming door was the hallway. The paint was chipped on the stairwell down. But, it was still miles above the other apartments I had visited. Faded off white, now a dusty brown, paint lined the walls. The creaky wood stairs screeched as I run down them, nearly bowling over Alice. "Ahhhhhh!" I yelp dodging her slight form.

My mother always told me it was rude to not look while going down the stairs. My parents were from Georgia, people are polite in Georgia. I have excuses! I was only there till about second grade.

_I think._

**Yes**. It sneers at me

**Sometimes I wonder where you go off to in your head. Not to remember things like ****that****.**

_You're there don't you know?_

**No, your mind is full of squiggles.** The voice growls at me

Sometimes I miss Georgia, but not often. There was only one person there I could tolerate.

**Johnny, 'Oh I miss you Johnny' **

_Shut up, please?_

**Crow and Crane sitting in a tree! K I S-**

_Shhhhhh!_

People used to mock us. "Two love birds peckin' away at their books, they are".

_**Idiots**_.

Alice had stopped for the little lady that lives on our floor. I had to bounce off of the wall, to avoid collision, and landed in splits on the bottom of the stairs.

"Ow!" I whine, "haven't done that for a while!" I grunt as I pick myself up off the floor. I give a circus worthy bow to the two on the stairs. The ladies clapped enthusiastically for my performance. Alice and I walk to the door and wait for the bus.

The bus is mostly empty. The only people on are the regulars. The people we can mostly trust, kinda. You can't really trust anyone in Gotham. Even the police system is completely corrupt. Officers are paid by the mob. There are only a few 'clean' cops left.

**Way different than Georgia in'it sweetheart.** The voice smirks at me, if a voice could smirk.

_Later_ I whine

**Fine**

"Ibis, you get off here!" Alice pushes me off into the dreary air that was Gotham.

* * *

The theater is a gigantic building, compared to the surrounding ones. It was around three story's but narrow for a theater. It fits about 150 people. The lights were on a catwalk at the back of the theater. I was the only person up there besides Greg. He's a new addition. People seem to think that it's not safe for a female to be by herself, so they assigned Greg to guard the entrance.

**Like ****he's**** gonna do any good!**

_He's not that bad, I mean... No never mind._

Greg has slept though _every _single show, he at this point is just another tripping hazard. Which I guess is good. He sleeps at the top of the stairs so people would just fall over him if they try to sneak up on me. It's the _only_ plus side to having him around.

**Not true, he makes great brownies.** It snickers

_**Yes**__, great brownies_

Every show, Greg from the goodness of his great gut, brought homemade brownies. And lets me eat _one_. He normally eats the entire batch on his own. Unless he falls asleep before he finishes. That happens, **rarely**.

The first person I see when I walk inside is Denice. Now Denice is... nice.

**She's a bitch.**

_Ok, she's nice, when she is not blaming me for blown fuses, empty seats and dust. Oh the horrors of... Dust. It is an old theater, so normal people expect dust. Especially people in this part of town. But if you so much as think the D word..._

**Nuclear war be upon you. Poof! And hey! Here the whale approach-eth!**

_What, really? How long have got till show?_

**About**,

"Thirty minutes!" Denice bellowed at me, "thirty minutes till showing and our only spotlight," at this she stops glares at me and keeps on trucking forward, "decides it's a good idea to space out. Go! Get going! Up up up!" She squawks and herds me up the stairs, swatting me with a rolled up bulletin.

She turns around right as I trip over Greg. He just grunts at that.

_I think his fat pads him._

**Most definitely. Can we off him at least? Pwease? **It pouts

_No not yet. Maybe later._ I try to appease the voice. Save the brownies!

Denice has not come charging up the stairs yet, but I decide not to test my luck and get the light warmed up.

The actors get their voices warmed up. All the cast has been picked wonderfully, Carlotta really fits the bill. She actually sings like that.

**High, screechy, really annoying **It asks innocently

I'm not deceived by the tone, I can see the 'toad' scene from the movie, flashing through its mind. With its own special _touch_ of acid.

I must have spaced out again because when I look around a carefully wrapped brownie lay before me and the theater was full. Denice has not come back up though, that was a plus. The lights were warm and the stage is set. I look at Greg, he's not sleeping yet.

**What a surprise!**

"Whats the time, Greg?" I whisper

"Couple minutes till go time." He then nods off.

**That was boring**

_Only a little bit._

* * *

The play was completely normal until the last act. Then things got a little wonky.

Christine and The Phantom had just done their Mexican standoff. Only this time he got a little hand-zy. Christine had to discreetly stomp on his foot. He let go, but started giggling instead of whimpering the next lines.

His face seemed to gleam whiter than normal and line of red was underneath his mask. There was also the problem with his voice it was almost nasally sounding. They walked up the stairs on to the higher platform. He just strutted up the stairs instead of the smooth pace he normally has.

**Something's very wrong.**

**Look at him!**

_What? What's wrong with him?_

**NOW**!

'Christine' had started screaming. It was high and very loud. She pushed the man away from her. He spun to lear at the crowd, this person was definitely not Mark. Mark didn't have long scars, stretching from the edges of his mouth. A sick twisted laugh cracked through the theater.

"What? You guys don-**t** _like_ my sm**i**le?" He snarls, popping the T. He started strutting down the stairs, leaving a paralyzed 'Christine' on the platform. Unconsciously I keep the spotlight on him. He seems to like that, and stretches the gruesome smile up in my direction. A shiver makes its way down my spine. This man hasn't done a thing and is still so utterly-

**Wrong, he's wrong can't you feel it? Leave before he notices! Run!**

I have learned it is always best to listen to the voice. Only rarely is it wrong. I turn to go down the stairs. I have completely forgotten about Greg, so when I find myself flying down the stairs it is a shock to the system. The bottom the the stairs comes closer. I do the only thing I can, try to curl into a ball and roll. There is no room to roll however, and I land on my back and slam into the wall.

"O**o**oh little bird tried to **fly** away did i-**t** now?" The man with his fake smile walked over to me, twittering at the beginning and ending in a growl.

I can only whine as he bends over me. Blood leaks out of my nose, and my vision flickers.

"She'**s** a loo-**k**-er, ain't she!"

He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, as if I was a sack of flour. "Wellll this was great **f-**un and all, but I'm gonna **sk**-eeedaddle."

I notice the amount of blood dripping off his cape, splattered on his shirt, on his pants.

**Eeew**

I notice the screams finally, so he probably only killed a few people, _hopefully_. He walks to the exit.

**Move**! It yells at me almost...frantic

_Why, we're just moving?_

**Cause he's taking us with him!**

_Oh_!.

I try frantically to wriggle out of his grip. The only thing my tried body accomplished was elbowing the back of his head. It wasn't very hard but it still got a reaction out of the man. He growled and dropped me back on to the floor. My head hit the floor with a wet sounding thump. My vision started to flicker again.

"Oh noooo Th-at won't do a-t allll!" He exclaims right before I passed out.


	2. A Clown and a Window

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter but it is mainly Ibis freaking out and angst. I updated the chapter but only a little. So I might update the chapter to be even longer, but who knows?

I don't own DC Comics.

(Light sobbing)

* * *

A light tapping rings through my head.

**Wake up wake up wake up!**

_What? Where-_

**No time, gotta move! Before he comes back!** The voice sounds terrified. It never has sounded this stressed not even when-

_Who!?_ I ask cutting myself off.

**Joker**! It almost whimpered

_Who_? I ask again while sitting up.

**The crazy man at the theater!**

_Shit_!

A flickering yellow light glares into my burning retinas. I try to sit up, to block out the hazy light. I groan as a pain ripples through my lower half.

_What the hell happened!? _I growl at the voice

**J-joker, after you passed out, I tried to take control.**

_Since when can you do that!_ I grow low and menacingly

It ignores me **I-iit did-id'nt go so good he... **At this it drops off

I think I'm having a panic attack. My body stiffens and my breath turns to wheezing. Then my mind is thrust through a series of images. **Joker hovering over me. Him dragging me into the dressing room. My body tries to fight back, but it is still weak from the multiple concussions and blood loss. He takes off his pants and laughed at the fear on my body's face. The scars come closer as he crashes down on my lips. Blood fills my mouth, I can't tell if it's his or mine. He laughs again as he picks my useless body up easily on the couch. He shoves his knee in between my legs.** And then the image blacks out.

I look around frantic for an exit. I will not be a participant in his games. I refuse to hear that insane laughter again. The exit is open.

**Wait**! It squeaks

_Why_?

**The door is open. He is NOT stupid! **

_You think he is waiting for us?!_

It does not answer but the feeling of uneasiness answers instead.

_Ok...so the window?_

**Maybe. Hurry!**

A small window was about 8 feet up the wall, streaming foggy moonlight into an old warehouse building. Old boards littered the floor, sprawled across the ground were long rusty nails and covered in dust.

_Denice would hate it here._

**Focus**!

Ok, I can do this. It's only a little jump. You were in parkour for the majority of your life. So what if I haven't practiced in six months. And if you fall he'll probably come to tear you off the floor.

**He's coming through the door, go!** It screamed in my head

_Shit_!

I take a running leap up the wall just as he enters the room. I slam into the window shattering it and falling out. Unfortunately the ground is farther than I thought it would be.

_Mental note: falling two stories in a near comatose body is not good for digestion._

**There's no time to be sick! You can throw up to your hearts content, as soon as we're home!**

I ignore my stomach churning, and sprint as fast as a wounded rape victim can. So a slow jog. But hey! I got around the corner and hid in a trash bin before he had even stepped out of the building.

_Wooooohooooo! I'm not gonna die!_

**Wait for it!** It says uneasily

"Oh doll face, you've go-**t** to have some nasty shards of glass in ya, dontcha think? Did you think I wouldn'**t **care that you'd esca**p**ed, mmmmh? No no _no_, your mine. I marked you. Now your mine, mine, **mine**!" He drifts away from my hiding spot in the dumpster, laughing all the while. High deranged psychotic laughter. The glass shards shift in body as the garbage presses against them. My body passes out from exhaustion not long after that.

I wake up in the small apartment with Alice hovering over me.I wake up in my small apartment with Alice hovering over me. Her blue eyes bloodshot and tired. Her face is blotchy as through she'd been crying. "Where did you go!" She flipped from sobbing friend to crazy in a heartbeat, "you've been gone for 3 days! The police said not to bother, that if a person is not found immediately that they won't even bother!" At this she broke down crying again.

I just stare.

_What am I supposed to do?!_

**Can I try?**

_If you think you can._ I say uneasily. Who knows what it'll do with me, but I trust it. Mostly.

A rope seems to be thrown around my middle and begins to gently pull me backwards. I don't seem to be moving however.

_What's happening? _I ask frantically

**Trying not to hurt you**. It says quickly

The tightness of the rope drops and I begin speaking softly. It's not me though, it's the voice. It's strange to hear myself talk. Unnatural.

"Alice?" She looks at me tentatively, "I d-don't kn-now what t-t-to d-d-do!" My voice cracks, on-coming sobs wreck my body

"Shit, what happened?!" Alice looks me over appraisingly, "No!" Her eyes wide. Female intuition, plus we live in Gotham there are only so many options to choose from. She hugs my limp body to her small fragile form. "You need a hospital." Alice says firmly.

My body pulls away from her in terror, "No! He'll find us-me! No hospital. Please." It sobs again

_Wow, we sound pathetic._

**SHUT IT! You weren't even there! I had to**

**live it!**

Needless to say, I shut up

_What if we're p-p...pregnant?_ I whisper to it. After rocking on the floor for a bit.

**Then, we will go to a hospital.** It says calmly

_Thank you._

**For?**

_Being here._

Alice had lifted us up from the floor and was leading our unresponsive body, into my bedroom. When did my become our?

The bed looked soft and clean compared to the warehouse. I don't even remember my eyes shutting or the soft thump of my body hitting the mattress.

**A small room, filled with needles and blood. Heart beats are the only sound I hear, and then off beat footsteps hitting hard on concrete. "Hellllo doll-face,"**

**I look around in terror.**

_Help_! **It's voice is silent. No return comments are made.**

**It's then that I notice a body strapped in to a chair. Blood mats the hair, covering the face. I can't see who it is, so I edge closer to look at them. Her eyes snap open. The eyes they're... mine! Icy blue eyes stare dully behind me. What is she looking at? I turn slowly, hear the crackle of deranged laughter, **and fall out of bed screaming.

Alice sprints into my room holding an aluminum baseball bat. She drops it when she sees my sobbing form on the floor it dings harshly on the floor. I flinch violently away from the sound of comes slowly over to me as you would a kicked dog, picking up my torso into a tight hug. Alice soothingly pets my hair, "shh it's ok. Your not there. Shh. Ibis it was only a dream."

_Only a dream? I wish._ But her voice is smooth, and calms the adrenaline cursing through my veins.

**Sleep** It whispers gently

* * *

This last bit is to give a sliver of her mental state. And no matter how bad she thinks she has it, the Voice has it wayyyyy worse.


	3. The Way Things Used to Be

This chapter is mainly a filler showing how she was as a kid. And as a reference point for why she acts the way she does later. But if you don't like fillers just read till the flashback point.

I, sadly, still do not own or contribute to the wonders of the DC Universe. The OC is MINE!

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Alice pov

"Ibis has not slept in a week, her nightmares are keeping her awake. The only reason she has gotten **any** sleep at all is because she passes out. She is still turning in her school work, and she still has her job. So that's good at least... I don't know what to do, I'm her only friend you know. And I have no clue what to do!" I look over at Dr. "_Sunny Skies Await You!"_ Werden. He continues taking notes in a little red leather book. The words look like scribbles.

_How can he read that? _

"I recommend sleeping pills." Dr. Werden says

"For me? Or for Ibis?" I snap out of my daze.

"Both." He smirks at me from his fancy oaken desk, "but perhaps Ibis has memories from the theater. Do you think it would help her to find other place of work?" He asks this as a question, but it's not. He wants her to quit her job.

I feign thinking hard, "Maybe!" I force my voice to sound happy.

"What about the kid?" I ask quietly.

"I can't give my opinion on that matter."

**One month later**

Ibis pov

_Shit_ **Shit**

Two little pink plus signs glare up at me from the little cup. Two pink blurs I had not counted on.

I slide down the white tile in the apartment's bathroom.

"Ibis? I'm coming in." Alice took one look at my body sprawled on the cold floor and rushed over and hugged me.

_Do we keep it_?

I must have said this out loud because Alice replied. "You should do what you won't regret," she looks over sadly, "that's what my mother always told me."

Do what you need to.

**Ibis...?**

_What_? I ask, still in disbelief.

**Can we keep it? **It says really quietly, as if it wasn't sure I would agree with it.

_Ok _I hear myself say.

I think I can hear it sigh in relief. 'Ok' so I'm keeping the kid. I've got my new job at Gotham University. Alice is still my friend. **And** I have a talking voice in my head. I've not a problem in the world. Except for the mob, or the fear of getting mugged and/or killed. But that's normal in Gotham.

**3 hours later **

**Why do you call me 'it'?**

_What? Oh! Because you don't have a name?_ I am confused, does it want a name?

**Grex, please call me Grex**.

_Ibis and Grex what a pair we make. What would father say? _I tease the newly named Voice.

"**Are you talking to yourself again dear? I'm not sure that's healthy.**" Grex mimics my fathers concerns about me.

My father was dear to me, but could be so extremely dense at times.

**Ooh remember the Cat!**

_And just for a while we can forget**.**_

**Flashback**

The glares off steaming, cracked sidewalks. Sweat cakes my back, sticking the neck of my blue dress to my body.

"Hot isn't it, dear?" Her question is not a question, but a statement.

_It's August of course it's hot!_

"Yes." Is my moronic reply to her mundane question.

The whole town reeks of mundane. Even in my seven year old mind I knew. Always the the same questions, day in day out. No new people ever move here, the people all look the same. Every family is related. Almost everyone in class is a cousin of some sort.

I walk to the tall steepled building, the paint is starting to peel in the heat. The doors open supposedly inviting. The room is full of the regular swarm of identical smiles laughs. Dirty blond hair and dirt brown eyes on every head that hasn't turned grey. Jonny was by his vulture grandmother.

She didn't seem to like me much. She always scowled down her nose at me. But Jonny was my only real friend. At school I giggled with the other girls but grew tired quickly of the conversations on their "Fav color of Pink!" Jonny always had a new topic to talk about. For a while it had been beetles, then it was Sherlock Holmes. A couple weeks ago was Latin and other dead languages. (We hadn't gotten all that far.) But for now it was phobias. "Fear" he said, "made the world turn round."

I always sat by Jonny, my mommy wanted to sit with her big friends she told me when I asked. Not that I minded, she never payed attention to me anyway.

Today Jonny's Gran was latched on to his shoulder like a leech.

_Slimy buggers!_

But as usual she let go when we turned into the pews. I hugged Jonny, and he only flinched a little! The balding grey haired pastor started on the usual sermon on death, demons and damnation. Jonny and I both agreed that all of this was a load of- **very** shinny shoes! I snicker to myself and I think I see Jonny's lips twitch.

Jonny's curly dark brown hair is swept cleanly off to the side. His icy eyes slightly glazed over as he gazes at the overweight pastor. He has a slightly beaky nose, but I think it's cute. He is much taller than the other seven year olds in our grade. He has a very lanky figure for his age, or so my mother says. The other children in class have come up with a nick-name for him, Scarecrow. I think it fits pretty well, but Jonny doesn't seem to like it much so I don't call him that. I call him Lima-bean.

In church we had to be extra quiet otherwise Jonny's Gran would scowl at us. One time he was sick and kept sniffling, she got up and drug him up out of church. Monday, in class, he was limping and wouldn't let me hug him. I don't think she likes Jonny much either. She never calls him by his name it's always, boy. He likes boy ever less than Scarecrow.

When church ends his Gran lets us play for an hour. So we talk about fears. We have an experiment for tomorrow planed out. It will be wonderful.

Monday was the day, the day of the experiment. Jonny and I walked into school with matching grins. Our principal had been a jerk on Thursday, so he would be the test subject today. He had told Jonny that if he did not play with the other boys he would call his Gran. Normally this would not have bothered either of us but his Gran had been in a particularly bad mood that week. She was really not happy to get that call. Jonny had come back to school limping all day Friday. And he flinched when I hugged him. Our pran-experiment was going to be awesome!

In class we sat in our usual spots in the back, because no one wanted to sit by Creepy Crane. My mother told me they were jealous of us. I wasn't sure about that. Jonny did have a problem of staring into nothingness, unfortunately this nothingness was occupied by a classmate.

The teacher of room 2b was a skinny rail of a woman, she was all edges. The school day went as planned

1\. Do school work

2\. Run away from Bo and his thugs at PE

3\. Set up

This was the fun bit.

At recess, it is a well documented fact that if you hurt yourself, people will crowd you. Not just a couple people, the entire playground will empty just to look at your broken arm. So that's what we did Jonny was going to sneak and do his thing, he had not told what to expect just so I would not get framed as accomplice. Even though I _was_ one.

My face turned up into smirk at the thought.

_Oh goody, Bo is heading this way._

This will play perfectly into our plan.

I step back away from him. But he steps forward closer to me. "Is the little Crow gonna fly away?" He sneers at me, with his chubby seven year old cheeks. I take the cue and run up the small set of playground equipment. Knowing that they would catch me anyway. They corner me on the slides like usual. But this time things go differently. Instead of waiting for me to jump off the slide, he says, "Fly Crow!" And then pushes me off. I have no time to land on my feet so I land on my arm. A crack is heard throughout the playground. This time I hear a voice.

**That little Shit!** I hear it grow

_Who_! I ask before the spindly teacher whisks me off to the nurse.

It does not answer me.

The nurses office is right next to the Principals so I get to watch the mayhem that is Jonny Crane. He had put two of the towns stray cats in a bag and dropped in the mans desk. When the cats had ripped their way to freedom they were still in the drawer, so when he open the drawer to let them out they attacked his face.

_I didn't know he had a wig!_

Snickering escapes me, then I look again at the mangled mass that was the principals wig. I laughed till I passed out from the pain of my broken arm.

* * *

Please comment! I'd like to know how I'm doing.


	4. Off To A Great Start

I'm really sorry, for the late update and the short chapters. But I know where I'm going, I swear! I just... Don't know how to get there is all. So suggestions are welcome. Please! ( puppydog eyes ).

Thank yous and hugs to for the review!

I still, woefully, do **not** own anything of worth in this world. Sigh.

The OCs are mine, all _mine_!

* * *

By the way,

**Ibis = **Grex

_Ibis = _Ibis

* * *

Present

Third person pov

Alice came into the kitchen shocked to hear laughter in the apartment. None had been heard for weeks. Ibis was standing with her hands in soapy water laughing quietly to herself, immersed in a memory. She stops laughing and goes back to mindlessly scrubbing the dish in her pruned hands. Alice walks right next to her with a hug. "You'll never be alone Ibis. I won't let you." She mumbles into her back. "You're like a sister to me, you know?"

Ibis stops scrubbing. "I know, you are mine as well." A tear slips down her cheek. "Don't leave me!" Ibis drops the plate into the bin beside the sink. "Please?" Her eyes are filled with long gone memories of her first family. "Oh Ibis." Alice leads the blubbering woman onto the couch, laying her down. Gently lifting her head to rest on her lap. "Why is the world against you?" Alice begins stroking her hair soothing her as you would a lost puppy.

Ibis's icy eyes fogged with car crashes and bright lights. The yelling and crying from her mother. The two bodies laying side by side, always together.

"Dex? Nymph? Mum? Nooo! Mum what happened!? Mum!"

Ibis pov

The morning sun glares from the window. Red light filters in before I open my crusty eyes.

My head is in Alice's lap her hand placed on it as if she was petting me. This would have been odd, and or unsettling but for the first time in a month I have slept all night without waking up body is relaxed on the couch it's fuzzy suede molded to my form. It's like getting a soft hug.

Alice's head is craned back at an unnatural angle to lie against the backrest. Drool leaks out of one side of her mouth. Her blond waves are scrunched up on the side of her head.

She's adorable, I am happy to consider her family.

_Mine_.

**Ours, as you are mine.** Grex agrees

**We're not losing this one.**

_No, not this one._

Alice wakes up with a snort."Ow!" She massages her neck, she shifts jostling my neck.

"You make a very nice pillow." I inform Alice.

"Thanks, 'twas mine life's ultimate achievement to be a pillow'" she says in a Shakespearian voice.

"Oh of course fair Lady, why would not your legs be a pillow unto mine head?" I reply as snootily as I can muster.

We laugh at the stupidity of the situation, then fall silent.

"Do you think you should see a therapist?" asks Alice quietly, "it's just, you have not slept for over a month." She says this quickly like she's ripping off a proverbial bandaid.

_Mood-killer_

Grex just groans

"Alliiice! You know what happened with the last one."

**Now HE was boring!**

Alice looked nervously at me, "But it might help to talk to someone about everything!"

**She looks soooo nervous!** Grex ponders

**It's cute. **It decides

_So, therapy?_

**Sure, as long as Alice is there to moderate the guy.** Grex says grumpily

"Sure" I tell Alice

She looks at me like I just revealed that the world is not going to end.

"Wow no need to look so relieved. I don't bite!" I laugh as I poke her.

"Yes, yes you do." She looks thoughtful the ruins it by grinning, "you bit that guy in the bar who gave you those horrible pickup lines!"

I give her my best puppydog eyes, "Alliiice! That was one time, and those were awful lines!" I pout.

"But he was really cute! Tall, red head, smart."

I counter sarcastically, "Narcissistic, and wouldn't pay for the drink! And he asked all those really disturbing riddles. Bleuh!"

"True"

We lapse back into peaceful silence, thinking of the past, with no laughter heard anywhere.

**2 hours later**

Alice gets off the phone, with her therapist. ( I found early on that I can no longer listen to voices on the phone. Their nasally tones sound to closely to the voice in my nightmares.) She sets the dangling phone back into the holster on the wall.

"I booked a session with Dr. Werden in a week."she gets ready for the Library. "Please don't break him, I like this one."

I give her a measured look.

**Awwww, why can't we mess with him?**

_Because Alice knows best, of course._

"Of course if he digs where he's not allowed we'll get another shrink." She looks at me from the doorway, "Do try at least to not break his face, K?"

**Only if he doesn't start it! G**rex speaks out of my mouth.

_That's still really weird!_

My face smirks with Grex's amusement. Alice does not look reassured.

**One week**

"So Miss. Crow," Dr. Werden smiles down at me from his desk"So Miss. Crow," Dr. Werden smiles down at me from his desk, "we, meaning Miss. Alice and I, have decided that it is probably too early to discuss this 'Joker' person were here to talk about anything else that might help you sleep." He smiles benignly at me, his foggy blue eyes look tired. His faded brown leather shoes tap slowly on the worn wooden floor. The Doctor steeples his pudgy sausage fingers and rested his heavy chin upon them.

Alice could not be here with me, she had to cover for a coworker.

**Ibis you don't have to do this.**

_No, I got this._

"Where do you want me to start."

"Where ever you feel comfortable." He smiles a smile of boredom and fake patience.

**I want to rip off his fake face.** Grex says nonchalantly

_Patience, if he says something stupid we'll punch him, K?_

**Fine**. Grex says grumpily

"It's best to start at the beginning, yes?" I look at Dr. Werden, he nods and I begin.

**Flashback**

Walking into my home I knew something was wrong. The front entrance was silent, but I could hear my parents voices coming faintly from their bedroom. I dropped my pink Pretty Pony backpack on to my small bed and flopped down next to it. Dad's voice began to rise, and then was cut off by Mums. Her voice carried through the wall. But I still can't hear the words. I wanted to know what was making them yell at eachother, they don't normally yell. I crept closer to their doorway, it was opened slightly.

**Careful **the voice says

"You fucking **idiot**, Rufus!" Mum shrieks at him, "why'd you bring her here? I knew what was goin on, you didn't have to rub it in my face that you don't want **me** anymore."

I peep through the keyhole to see them. Mum is red faced and tearful. Dad is hovering over her, getting more prune colored as she speaks. Mum takes another breath and mutters "idiot" under her breath. Dad finally reacts, "Oh **IDIOT** am I? Who was it that quit their **fucking** job today h'mmm? Who was having an affair with their coworker _**AT WORK**_!? Dads spit flies into the air. Mom wipes it off her face and turns toward the door. Dad grabs her shoulder and flips her around.

I am jerked out of my memories by harsh wheezing snores.

**He's snoring! He DARES to sleep!?**

_We are paying him_! I say aghast

**Alice always said he seemed distracted but really...** Grex seems disappointed in the crappy Doctor.

_Sleeping on the job. He's as bad as Greg! And **his** only redeeming quality was his brownies._

**I hated Greg! Rip off his face!** Grex growls

_So shall I do the honor, or do you want to?_

We are trying 'the share the body' thing. So far it's working perfectly, like on this occasion.

**Oh, I want to!** Grex purrs

I shrink back to give Grex room to move. This will be fun! I munch on mind popcorn.

"YO! Shrinky!" She taps harshly on his nose. He flinches awake. Grex leans my thin face close to his pudgy one. "Wise words of advice, DON'T fall**ll** **As**sle**e**P on the **TRauMatized** soon to be Mother." He shrinks back in his cushy chair. He looks close to stuttering out an apology. Grex being who it is gives him a scarily wide smile and punches the chair on te side of his head into the wall behind him. It crunches the drywall and dust falls to the floor. Grex turns my body over to me once again.

"Oh, and I'll be finding a new therapist." I say sweetly. I slam the door, and the hinges pop of the door.

_Since when we do that?_

**Don'no don't care! Let's get mugged! I want to punch something!**

* * *

I would still appreciate reviews. If you review I'll try to insert what ever it is in to this thing I'm writing. Yes this is a bribe.


	5. Smile of Death

_No! Bad idea! Horrible Idea!_

But Grex was no longer listening to me. It pulled me back into my mind, I could only watch what was happening.

_And this is why people don't share._ I think glumly to myself.

Grex just hopped out the window onto the roof.

_Grex what are you doing!?_

**Burning energy. You're too tense. **Grex laughed as I ran across the rooftop. A feral scream rips through my throat . The rush of adrenaline fills my body. I don't know when Grex filters out, but soon enough it's me running across the buildings and jumping the gaps. It's freeing.

**See you needed this just as much as I did.**

_Yes, your right as always._

The feeling of a smirk play's across my lips.

**Of course, I'm always right.** Grex says smugly.

We run flipping across the gaps, bouncing off of the sides of chimney's. The joy of running is indescribable.

A scream sounds right underneath us. I look down and spot a group of three guys pinning a thin rail of woman in a dead-end alley.

"No, please!" The men just laugh and push her against the wall.

**Never again!** Grex snarls, then takes back control of my body. I grapple down the sides of the narrow alley, jarring my underused joints. My feet connect with the thick shoulders of the man closest to the woman. His knees collapse under my weight, slamming his face to the disgusting, wet alleyway. Thug number two crashes into my back trying to unbalance me, but I haven't felt this I was in high school.

"**Ooh a fight! Just thing I'm look'in for."** Grex hisses at the two men. One of them snickered. Grex whipped her head toward him. He was a tall bulky man, tattoos covered his thick arms. These arms led to thick logs for fingers.

_No pianos for Bob._

**Bob? Really? **Grex sighed in my mind.

_Oh yes! And Jim over there is moving._

The now named thug, Jim, lumbered forward on short thick legs. His torso overwhelmed the short limbs. "Two for one? This **is** a deal breaker, ain't it?" He turns smirking at his partner. His voice is low and uneducated. Stuttering over the simple words. Grex gives him the widest smile she can when the thugs look me up and down like meat. They flinch back from the feral grin, all my teeth exposed, easier to rip their throats to shreds.

_Careful, we have a witness!_

**Humph** Grex snorts

They teeter toward lumbering toward me, their massive paws swinging at my torso. Grex uses Jim as a springboard to jump into Bobs face. My fist cracks against his teeth, blood wells up in his mouth. He spits it at me when I land. Jim tried to grab my from behind, as when I leapt over him he ended up behind me. I duck around his sweeping arms and jab his ribs from the side. Jim hunches over in pain. Bob punches at my face, all their former plans for me forgotten. "I'm gonna kill you!" Bob roars at me. I duck under his lunging punches and return one of my own. Grex punches his chest and he goes flying in a metal dumpsters. The metal crumples around him.

_How'd you do that!_

**I don't know?!**

The men are sprawled along the alley moaning. A pitiful moan catches Grex's attention, she whips me around into a crouched position.

_It's the woman, no need to be so jumpy with this one._ My joking demeanor grating on Grex's nerves. It sighs.

**No I suppose not.**

The woman seemed to be plastered to the grimy bricks. Her fingers were bent into claws gripping the wall. "P-p-please don't hurt mmme!"

A flux of emotions filtered in from Grex. The grin it had worn on my face slipped off in a flash. The woman's face relaxed in in its terror. "**Why would I hurt you?"** Grex sounded genuinely confused. The woman didn't move.

_I think she's in shock._

**Hospital**?

_Definitely_

Grex shoved me forward in irritation, apparently she doesn't like crying females. I guess she has enough with me and Alice.

The woman sank lower into the bricks, as if hoping they would swallow her before I got there. She passed out as I leaned over her to lift her limp body from the slick alley ground. Her head rolled against my shoulder. She had stringy bleached blond hair. She looked around 30 years old.

**You'd think that after thirty years living in Gotham, she'd know not to go out after diner.**

_She's living into her hair._ I reply, Grex chuckles

_Shh! She's a victim,we can't laugh!_ I giggle _Even if it's funny._

There's a hospital three blocks from here. It's ok for being so close to the Narrows. It's were most thugs from the mob go however, but it's closer than the other one which is across the city.

**Go to the mob hospital. It's easier and we need to get home before Alice freaks out.**

The dingy sidewalk is littered with trash, ash and the homeless of Gotham. Rats shrieked at me as I passed their alleys. The hospital new for the area that it was located in, so mid 90's style. The aged stone walls were murky and depressingly. But if was still a hospital, so the insides were clean and new-ish.

I walked in the doors to the desk in the middle of the room. The cool air washed over us and the woman in my arms started twitching awake.

The nurse at the desk was checking out a patient with a startlingly resemblance to the thugs I just beat up.

**So tall, bulky and stupid looking?**

_Shh, I thinking!_

My arms were starting to ache, with the deadweight in my arms. I wait patiently for the two at the desk to notice me there... for about 30 seconds.

**Just put her on the desk and leave**

_No that's mean! I brought her in I have to **keep** her in._

Grex mumbles incoherently, takes control of my mouth and of course is rude, "**Ello chap**!" She says politely to the man, then growls, "**move**!"

The man just stares at me

_Probably in shock that you were so rude._

Grex snickers

She moves my body forward into his, the woman in my arms between us. His hands come up defensively and Grex dumps the unconscious body into his heavily tattooed arms.

"You can't do that!" The Barbie nurse wines at me. She stands up and shakes her well manicured finger at me. "All patients must be checked in by the person or persons that bring them here!"

_Is she **quoting** at me?_

**I believe so, yes**

My face sneers with Grex's and mine's annoyance. The nurse totters backward bumping into her chair. A look of horror flashes on both of their faces. The same look the woman gave me in the alley. "Is there something on my face?" we hiss.

The nurse throws a small compact at me head. I snort in amusement and turn back toward the door. A thick chest slammers into my head, the floor comes quickly toward me. An arm catches me before I hit it. I look up into a familiar worried weathered face. His caring faded blue eyes look down at me. "Sorry, I'm so sorry ma'am." He said hurriedly, pulling me upright.

**It's Gordon!**

_Yes_?

**I like him he's nice.**

_Wow, so you don't want to slice him open and dance on his innards._

**No, he's nice. He helped us.**

Gordon had helped us get through the 'psychopath doesn't have me anymore' stage of questioning after we checked in with Alice. He had spread up the process by a lot. Everyone else had thought I was teamed up with the loon. He believed me/ us.

"Naw it's fine!" I try to relax him. He slumps into a less uptight posture. A smile graces his face before he turns to the desk. A stunned nurse and a befuddled thug stand gapping at my change in mood. Not wanting to ruin the perfect time to escape I nod toward all of them and receive slow blinks in return. A small smirk flickers across my face, but the two people recoil in disgust at it, before I turn and march swiftly out the door into the muggy Gotham air.

The compact weighs heavily in my pocket. I slip it out as I walk slowly down the dimly lit sidewalk. The flickering street lights giving an eerie feel to it. My fingers flip it open, a sharp pale face stares out from the small mirror. A relieved smile flickers on her face.

**My turn! **Grex whines. Sometimes I think I have a psychopathic toddler in my head.

**Um, Ibis?**

_What_? I ask focusing back to the present.

**Look**!

Grex's face has frozen in smile. A messed up 'danger run away' smile. My lips are stretched up at the sides showing the tips of my gums my cheeks have scrunched up into folds of skin. IT is disgusting.

_What did you DO!_ I am panicking

**Needles**. Grex mumbles

_What neddles?_

**It's where he stuck them.**

**Pain, my face feels ripped. Stabbing needles inject acid into my muscles. Laughter rebounds in the small space. It mingles with my screams, escalates them. "NOoooOow your _mine_!" The laughter screams. All my muscles scream, ripping in the pain. ****My voice cracked under the strain. And when I move to relieve it. More needles are stuck into my face. My hands crunch the wooden chair I sit in, splinters dig into raw fingers. Pain...and laughter.**


	6. Woes of Owl

Hey guys, gues what! I found an old computer, so now I can update. (Hurrah!) ;D

I am really pleased with how this chapter turned out so I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

4 Months and 7 Doctors Later

"Ok we have three more 'Doctors'", Alice says with groan, "and the first is someone we know and loath, Harleen Quinzel."

"What, blonde and bubbly. That Quinzel? A Doctor?!"

"Hmm?" Her far off look of budding horror fading slightly, "Oh, yes apparently after high school she mellowed out quite a bit." She continues to read the paper, " But she hasn't graduated yet. She's looking for extra credit."

Alice and I lock eyes and laugh. In school Quinzel was 'blonde' epitomized.

**She was a stupid whore**, snarks Grex

_Very __**naïve**__, yes she was._

"So, I'm gonna take that as a no." Alice wheezes. Still shaking with laughter, I hum in agreement. She quickly flips the page. I rub my slightly swollen stomach in apprehension.

**Mine**

Yes, your dominance is well established by now. No need to rub it in. I tease Grex tiredly. 'Grex has been asserting Her/It's/Our claim since we found we found out we were pregnant. It's getting a little repetitive'

I look up at Alice from my position on the couch. Her nose seems to be crinkled in disgust as she looks at the now very crinkled pieces of paper. "What now?" I ask.

"Pedophile." She says while crumbling the paper into a ball and tossing it by the bin. My fists clench, as my eyes narrow. "It didn't say **that** on the application surely?" I ask in false humor, voice tight with rage.

"No," Alice says glaring at the bin, "He came to the library every once in a while."

**If she glares any harder the bin will combust**.

'Grex is not connected to my hormones, so any maternal urges to kill persons I dislike do not reach her. Which in this case is good, otherwise we would be beating the shit out of him as soon as we know where he lives. Not that she would stop me, she likes chaos. Chaos is fun till you get sent to Arkham.

**Arkham, I've heard is very boring**

_Probably, but I still wanna beat him with a chair._

"Alice," she looks over at me through her bangs, "I don't need a shrink I'm fine, really!"

"Ok"

**Really, no more idiots?** Grex exclaims happily

"Really?" I ask

Alice nods slowly, "Yeah, you've been sleeping 'finally'" She mutters this under her breath. "So yes, no more 'Psychologists'"

1 Month Later

I wince as a foot kicks the back of my ribs again. "ALICE!" She comes sliding down the hallway in a pair of pink socks, "What?" she asks uneasily.

I put on my best puppy dog face, Alice sighs in defeat. "The baby wants more pizza" I state

"Chicken Bacon Ranch?" Alice looks really green as she says this.

I stare at her meaningfully," with Pickles on the side." She spits out in disgust.

With my phone phobia Alice has been making and taking all my phone calls. She says she doesn't mind, but being a self-declared vegetarian and having to order my pizza makes her nauseous.

**But she loves us anyway!** Grex singsongs

Earlier this month I found a name for what I did to the men in the alley. 'Meta-Human'. According to the internet there are two ways to achieve this, being born with it or to acquire it illegally. I'm not sure which one I have. Grex's theory is that the gene was dormant until Joker started fiddling with our DNA, Sticking needles in us. I think it's the most likely of all the far-fetched idea I've had.

**We have to tell Alice though.**

_Soon_

**I hope she stays she's the one human being I don't loathe.**

2 Months Later

_Alice was supposed to pick us up ten minutes ago!_ I whine

**Its fine she probably got stuck in traffic, or she went for doughnuts.** Grex says appealingly

_But she doesn't LIKE doughnuts_

I waddle back and forth across the theaters exit. Gotham University's was much bigger than the small Narrows Theater. This one seats almost ¾'s of the school population.

**And we can walk to classes. Grex says appreciatively **

_I can finally get my Doctorate without getting mugged on the way to school_

**Which is no longer a problem.** Grex says smugly, as she brings up memories of us kicking butt

_Baby!_ I chided her/it

**OH Yeah!** Grex whines, bobbing our head down to look at our rounded belly.

_Now who's whining!_ I tease

**Stop Crowing at me**. Grex returns the tease

_Ouch the puns! They burn!_

I flop on the spongy theater seat just as the lights turn off. Luckily Alice pulls up soon after, the headlights on our shared car shine through the windows. I totter to the doors and fling them open revealing a blue Beetle. The light blue is spotted with rust and is a small crack in the back windshield. One of the headlights flickers as I walk out of the darkened building. Fog puffs out in front of me and streams out of the Beetles rusted tailpipe. The car door squeaks in protest as I open it to sit in the warmth of the car. Alice's' blonde bangs swing in the draft from the open door. "Sorry there was a lot of traffic."

**See!**

_Shut It!_ I huff in annoyance

2 Months Later

My back aches so bad it feels as if someone has stomped on it.

I waddle back and forth across the theaters exit. Gotham University's was much bigger than the small Narrows Theater. This one seats almost ¾'s of the school population.

**And we can walk to classes. Grex says appreciatively **

_I can finally get my Doctorate without getting mugged on the way to school_

**Which is no longer a problem.** Grex says smugly, as she brings up memories of us kicking butt

_Baby!_ I chided her/it

**OH Yeah!** Grex whines, bobbing our head down to look at our rounded belly.

_Now who's whining!_ I tease

**Stop Crowing at me**. Grex returns the tease

_Ouch the puns! They burn!_

I flop on the spongy theater seat just as the lights turn off. Luckily Alice pulls up soon after, the headlights on our shared car shine through the windows. I totter to the doors and fling them open revealing a blue Beetle. The light blue is spotted with rust and is a small crack in the back windshield. One of the headlights flickers as I walk out of the darkened building. Fog puffs out in front of me and streams out of the Beetles rusted tailpipe. The car door squeaks in protest as I open it to sit in the warmth of the car. Alice's' blonde bangs swing in the draft from the open door. "Sorry there was a lot of traffic."

**See!**

_Shut It!_ I huff in annoyance

2 Months Later

My back aches so bad it feels as if someone has stomped on it.

**With those pointy shoes!**

_Stilettos?_

**Yeah, those.**

My ribs hurt from the baby kicking me , and I am tired of the hormanal mood swings. Nothing could possible make this day worse.

**You're going to tell Alice today**. Grex says smugly, rolling in my laughter at my slumped posture.

_Shite, you made it worse!_

**I know! Grex gloats**

* * *

**Well I think that went well. What do you think?**

_She hasn't blink yet shoud she have blinked? Did I put her in shock?_

**You did'nt even get to the good part!**

_What part?_

**Me, of course!**

Alice stares blankly into space where my face was... 2 minutes ago. "OH," Alice breathes, "Ok." She stands and walks to the door, "Ok, Imma gonna go for a walk. I'll be back later?"

The green door slams shut behind her.

_Should we follow her?_ I ask reaching for the brass nob.

**No, I think she needs to freak out in private. Her 'friend' since high-school did just tell that she is a freak of nature.**

_Are we really?_ I had never really thought of myself that way.

**Well I think that went well. What do you think?**

_She hasn't blink yet shoud she have blinked? Did I put her in shock?_

**You did'nt even get to the good part!**

_What part?_

**Me, of course!**

Alice stares blankly into space where my face was... 2 minutes ago. "OH," Alice breathes, "Ok." She stands and walks to the door, "Ok, Imma gonna go for a walk. I'll be back later?"

The green door slams shut behind her.

_Should we follow her?_ I ask reaching for the brass nob.

**No, I think she needs to freak out in private. Her 'friend' since high-school did just tell that she is a freak of nature.**

_Are we really?_ I had never really thought of myself that way.

**Well you can punch through our walls. Have faster healing; reaction time and you can smell when she's been flirting with the nerds at the Library. So I would say yes, freak of nature fits pretty well.**

_You are soooo nice. If you were tangible, you would be a pile of mangled limbs laying on the pavement._

I believe my point is proven

2 Hours Later

Labor?

I quickly snag the phone from my pocket, "Alice you'd better get be out of your stupid bloody fucking 'shock' by now!"

_Alice pick up the phone! Alice pick UP! Now, Now, NOW!_

**Nice mantra.**

_SHUT UP!_

The thin piece of plastic by my ear clicks in connection at the same time the round of pain hits again. "AUGH!"

"Ibis, Ibis! Tell me you're not dead or dying!" came Alice's frantic voice blaring into my ear.

"I need you to pick me up and take me to the hospital!" there is a pause as she computes this.

"Ibis if you're just pulling my leg just to get me to come back-"

"Alice," I snap, " I am nine months pregnant, we agreed no joking about labor. If I messed up this friendship by telling the truth then I will hobble through the Narrows, to the hospital and try not to pass out in an alley!"

"Ok" Alice whimpers into the phone before it clicks off, disconnected

I believe my point is proven

2 Hours Later

Labor?

I quickly snag the phone from my pocket, "Alice you'd better get be out of your stupid bloody fucking 'shock' by now!"

_Alice pick up the phone! Alice pick UP! Now, Now, NOW!_

**Nice mantra.**

_SHUT UP!_

The thin piece of plastic by my ear clicks in connection at the same time the round of pain hits again. "AUGH!"

"Ibis, Ibis! Tell me you're not dead or dying!" came Alice's frantic voice blaring into my ear.

"I need you to pick me up and take me to the hospital!" there is a pause as she computes this.

"Ibis if you're just pulling my leg just to get me to come back-"

"Alice," I snap, " I am nine months pregnant, we agreed no joking about labor. If I messed up this friendship by telling the truth then I will hobble through the Narrows, to the hospital and try not to pass out in an alley!"

"Ok" Alice whimpers into the phone before it clicks off, disconnected.

. Another roll of pain rips through my abdomen. "OWWW!"

**Breathe Birdy!** Grex directs my Jelly-Legs to the dark green door. The colors swimming together form a blur across my eyes. The cool brass presses into my sweating palm. I lean my shoulder into the door nearly falling into the hallway. The creak of the hinges echoes in my head, splitting it in two. As I waddle slowly down the hallway our neighbor Gregory yells through his thin door, "Ibis, you OK?"

That's when the next wave of pain hits, and I black-out.

Gregory

I hear Ibis stumble into the hallway. I yell through the thin walls asking if she was ok, and then a slam into the wall outside my door rattles the frames hanging on my walls. My door with the lock I need to replace open and slams shut from the force of her falling. I lift myself off my lazy-boy and open the door again.

Ibis lies by my door slowly lifting her body from the floor, "Hmm, yeah I'm fine." she mumbles moving her black hair in my direction. Her head lifts, finally making eye contact.

_Somethings off._ I think to myself

"Gregory," I snap back to attention no longer looking at her eyes, "could you help me down the stairs, please?"

_Her voice is deeper_

"Yeah let me help you up. Don't put more stress on the kid." I grip her shoulders and lift her from the ground.

Grex

When Ibis passes out I have found that I can choose not to join her in the passing out, so that the body is mine to control. Not that she faints a lot, but when she's sleeping she doesn't have to.

The barrier between our minds is like plastic wrap. You can hear through it but can't go through it.

** Well she can't**.

So feeling Ibis flicker I push past the barrier. The body's heading for the floor. I throw out my arms, so that we won't land on our stomach.

**Man this thing is big.**

Birdy passed out in front of a wall. My arms make a loud thud against the drywall, slightly cracking the pain.

Possibly my arm as well.

The thud against the drywall makes the nosy dick of a neighbor Gregory come scurrying out of his hidey-hole to ask condescendingly, "Ibis are you Ok?"

**Like he fucking cares!** I think sarcastically, venom dripping off my words.

I shift trying to get up from the demeaning place on the floor,

**Fuck! OWW that hurts**

**I definitely broke her arm.**

**Great More sarcasm **

** FUCK!**

**Eww, I gonna hav't to ask for help. **I throw up mentally, it splatters across the barrier.

Out of my mouth spew the most Ibisy thing I can manage, "Gregory, can you help me down the stairs, please?" This comes out more as an order than a question.

**But you know what? Hormones get to ya!**

And unfortunately I really could not get down those stairs. I haven't had to walk around with the baby this big before.  
Gregory looks at me oddly as he helps me up.

**Is something on my face? – No?**

As Gregory helps me down the stairs, he asks, "Did you get contacts, Ibis?"

**Contacts? Contacts are the crappy pieces of plastic they stab into your eyes, right?**

"No, why?" I ask confused and strained. Waddling is surprisingly hard.

He looks strange for a moment, like if I'd drowned his goldfish before, "Your eyes are white, I was **for sure **they were _blue_!"

**White? Why are my eyes fucking _white?_ Delayed chemical reaction, Pregnancy?**

**Should have read that pamphlet, damn!**

Luckily (kinda) another wave of ripping pain goes through me.

**So that's why she passed out. Good girl Birdy, you're not a whimp after all!** I yell through the barrier. Hoping to wake my Birdy up before Alice got here. Otherwise with my white eyes and lack of people skills, we might have to tell Allice about me ahead of schedule.

**Ibis _loves_ her schedule.**

Gregory catches me on the second to last step, just as Alice comes running through the complex door. "My God Ibis, I am so sorry!"

I wave off Alice's concern for the partner of my mind.

Alice

Ibis was sweat streaked and so pale her already pale skin looked blueish. I shout, "My God Ibis, I am so sorry!" She only waves me off as if her pain was unimportant.

There was something odd about the way she waved me off. Maybe she is still angry about me walking away. But really that was a major bombshell. Anyone would react that way. 'Course Ibis wasn't all that great at making friends, maybe she didn't know that?!

When I grab Ibis from Gregory, he tries to help me get her into the Beetle. I wave him away, I don't need Ibis thinking she's useless or weak. She just got out of therapy for the love of all things holy! We don't need her to go back! "Gregory, it's fine I've got it." He just looks unsure as he heads back into the complex. When I look at Ibis to make sure she hasn't moved her eyes are a strange white color, but she shook her head and they flickered back to the icy blue. Must have been glare.

2 Hours Later 1:13 P.M

Ibis

Everything aches, and **still** feels better than **being** pregnant.

Would this be a good time to tell you that you need to tell Alice about me? Grex asks innocently

Why? What did you do!? I will not fall to Grex's ploy, even if I do feel like that time I sat on by that lug of a man/thug.

Grex seems to sigh

Our eyes change color depending on who's driving. Grex grumbles.

Really? I ask insidiously

Yeah, their fucking white! White! There's nothing white about me, if anything they should be black. Grex whines

White's creepier. I say consolidating

A doctor in a crisp white coat sweeps into the white hospital room, with me covered in white sheets. I wear a crisp white back-less hospital gown under them. The tall doctor is followed quickly by a dumpling of a nurse in stark shoes.

I see your point. Grex mumbles

The nurse is carrying a small pink wriggling bundle. She coo's to it softly before gently handing it to me.

**Mine?**

_Ours._ I correct

The little baby girl has short soft black curls, curiously only on the right side of her face. A face that is small and round like my baby pictures showed me to be. Her nose is a cute button nose. The only thing off-putting are her eyes, they are **his**.

**No they are lighter. Still green but not _his_. _Never_ his. **

The eyes are a light green almost a teal blue, flecked with a dark emerald color.

"The eyes might darken." The nurse interrupts my mussing, "Wouldn't it be pretty to have that dark green?" I shudder, Grex whimpers.

Alice asks softly having seen my shudder, "What's her name?"

I smile a little, "Nauru Dela Crow." I say this confidently, trying to cover my fear of all things green.

Alice snicker coughs, "Laughter of the Crow?!"

**_"We will have the last laugh."_** Grex and I speak in unison, our eyes unknowingly flashing white.

* * *

So... how was it? Please review!


	7. Of Goons and Loons

Hey I updated on time! Hurrah! But seriously, I'm gonna be gone for a conference so there won't be an update for a while. I really like this chapter, I am going to try to get it this length for the rest of them. Just a warning though my update schedule is skewed, so chapters are be written just... not here. :(

I still don't own DC. Darn :'( Unless someone reeeeeaaaally nice wants to buy me a birthday present? *nudge nudge*

* * *

6 Months Later

I am extremely paranoid after a babysitter found my wig collection. It was only due to Alice getting home early that she didn't get away with them all.

Ooh I have good news. All my patchy balding hair on the left side of my head has fallen out! It looks a _little_ nicer.

**Much nicer. Less dead dog on our head. **Grex smiles

_Matches our daughter, Nauru._

I've been taking Nauru to work with me. Professor Wusk, of the arts club, said that as long as she was quiet she could stay with me. I told her this on the way to work in between my rambles to Grex. And so far she hasn't cried once.

**She gurgles though**. Grex comments

_And it's adorable. _I defend

**I never said it wasn't**. She whines

Even with Alice taking her in the mornings when I have school we were all stressed until she said her first word, "Owl", Little kids aren't supposed to be able to talk until their about six months old. That's when the palate starts developing. I am not quite sure where she would have heard anyone call me that. Maybe Alice told her? In any case I am now 'Ow'wl' and Alice got shortened to 'Ali." My Little Crow is completely adorable.

3 Months Later

The nurse was right, Nauru's eyes did darken, but they aren't his. His were always alight with harsh calculated weaponized amusement. Nauru's eyes with bright with a child's innocent glee. **She laughs even at the wind when it hits her nose. **

At nine months old Nauru was speaking in simple sentences, mainly Ow'wl gimme! And my personal favorite, "Oopsy Ali." She was still crawling and clinging to my shins when I'd put down at work to work the lights.

Thursday 2001- December

The harsh winter wind rattled the cold metal frame on my back. Dark smoggy clouds spurt out tiny snowflakes. That land and are then blown into haphazard quickly growing piles. My boots squeak on the thin ice that glazes the sidewalks.

"Ow'wl I'ma cold." The bundle on my back shivers.

**She's cold. Hell I'm cold and I don't have nerves!**

"I know Little Crow, Owl's cold too" My teeth chatter together clacking with the cold.

Alice had taken the Beetle, as her job was across town and the Uni's Theater was only 4 blocks away from the apartment.

**So we walk four blocks in Hells junk drawer with no hat. Why again don't we have a fucking hat?**

_I thought the wig would keep the cold out! _I defend myself

**Well, that plan worked fuckin perfect din' it?!**

A voice from the alley I'm passing calls out, "Hey there Pretty! How's about you drop the bag, an' come ova here wif me an' the guys for a good time," the voice sleazed out from the alley.

**Hmm, Italian Mob, I think, from the accent.**

I take a quick sniff in his direction,

_Hair oil- Spilled gasoline- some chemical I haven't had the unfortunate pleasure to happen upon- Dirt- blood- fear?_

**Not his. He is the most confident fucker I've ever smelt.**

_And his cologne!_

**Almost covers up the "fear de voman" he's got going.**

"Ow'wl?" Nauru mutters into my back, "Stw'aner dan'er, Ow'wl!"

The sleazy voice has emerged part way from the icy alley. He is a tall man, late 20's. Really, he's very tanned for a man who lives in Gotham. He dressed in the typical fashion of movie gangsters; baggy pants and an oversized hoodie meant to make him look bulky but only makes him look like a stick. Slick-backed black hair sits, stuck to his skull.

_I can nearly see the grease dripping._

To top off the overly cliché look, beady black eyes hover hungrily over a hooked nose that sits on a rather pathetic mustache. Pencil thin lips open, "Come on lady, Falcone can find you later in any case," his voice drops menacingly, "For better or worse."

**_Dick _**Grex and I agree on this, rapists will die and long and pain filled death.

**Can I rip this one apart?**

_They're rapist mob members. Even if he wasn't mob, he's wearing so much cologne I want to kill them all regardless!_

"She Little Crow, Grex is working." I slowly look the mobster up and down slowly, 'checking him out,

**No weapons. Idiot!**

before I seductively before making my way closer to the lanky mobster.

He looks shocked and puffs out his thin chest pridefully. Lanky seems to be very pleased that I'm not running frantically away from him. I let Grex through, "Surely not here?" I hear myself purr. I slip the ever present canister of pepper spray into my hand, as I enter the alleyway.

"If you don't mind." Lanky comes to close off the exit from the alley as Grex sways past him. The other two mobsters mimic tall and lanky's fashion sense, just Thug 1 is more wall like than thug 2 who looks like a slightly deflated beach ball.

**Kinda fat and saggy ain't he?**

"Oh no I don't think that will work at all! Sorry boy's looks like you'll have to find your fun elsewhere."

Thug 2 flicks a small butterfly knife open, and a flurry of snow flying behind him substitutes for the tumble weed. Thug 1 cracks his knuckles, the sound resounding loudly in the cold narrow alley.

**Could they be anymore cliché? **Grex complains

**Their lack of creativity actually hurts to process.**

_Ooh look their circling us._

"Three of us against one skinny broad." the wall smiles.

Grex's chuckle bounces off the walls, the chemical grin splits our face. Thug 1 and 2 stare at my/our/Grex's face in a mixture of disgust and utter terror. Lanky, who was circling around to stare at my wonderful rear, tried to cope a feel. At the smell of his excitement we whipped around spraying pepper into his beady black eyes. "Aauugh!"

"Caught the wrong mouse you have!" Grex giggles. One of the men behind me tense up ready to move. I spin around ready to play. Thug 2 slashes out at me with the knife; I duck under and while he's still unbalanced push my forearms into his over-sized belly. He flips over my tucked body landing heavily behind me, head hitting the ground with a crack. "This mouse has fangs!" Grex laughs and a soft bubbly laughter comes from my backpack/baby harness. Thug 1 looks around in terror for the source of extra laughter. This only makes Grex's laughs to turn to cackles. The bewildered thug turns to run frantically down the alley. Four steps down the craggly cement, just before Grex was about to pounce on him, he trips and falls. Slamming his thick skull on the pavement.

_I think they're out!_

**Naw, that one's still twitching**. Grex then points him out.

Lanky was still rolling around in pain, rubbing his eyes trying to work the spray out. "So Lanky... Yup I'ma call ya Lanky!"

Lanky just looks at us from the ground. His once smooth clean oily, adept oily, hair is now stringy and covered with some unknown gel like substance and sticking ever where.

_The skunk smell of his cologne is gone though! _

**He looks like a rat!**

_No, Rat was taken by the thug on 30th!_

**Fine, Lanky it is then.** Grex pouts.

The ear to ear grin fades as I take back control of my body. My posture shifts from Grex's slouch to a more upright position. This only serves to make me seem more intimidating since I now tower over the man on the ground. Lanky shivers (from cold or fear, I don't know) as I lean over him. The soft giggle is heard over my shoulder, "Ow'wl e loos unny!"

Nauru has somehow shimyed her way up the harness to peek over my shoulder at the man lying on the ground. Lanky lunges for the dropped knife that landed a few feet above his head.

"Oh come **on**! I **hate** hitting hopeless people!" I whine, then punch his head into the concrete. I smell the air again since it's clear of Lanky's cologne. Lanky's sent has even more of the scale fear scent.

**Fear scent, it's melded into his so –**

**_His wife. He is so sad and weak he has to rape his own wife. How'd he even get the girl are her parents stupid?!_**

_The plan?_ I interrupt Grex's rant.

**Yessssss!** She hisses

_Nauru?_

**Umm? Tell her to close her eyes?**

Narrator

"M'k Little Crow open up." Owl says

Nauru opens her big green eyes to the blowing wind just outside the alley. She thought in her genius 9 month mind, "Owl's weird." She opens her moth to ask owl something that had been niggling her, "Ow'wl do oo ave a fr'nd in oo?"

Ibis/ Owl's eyes momentarily flicker white as she debates whether or not to tell her daughter.

"Nauru," the little girls' attention is brought back to the back of her mother's head, "yes I do, but we can't tell anyone. K?"

"Not Ali?!" Nauru whines.

Ibis's head just shakes, "Not yet my Little Crow."

The girl wonders for a while as she is carried down the blustery sidewalk. "T's er name?"

"Grex, and she likes you almost as much as I do!" Nauru's nose scrunched up at the funny name.

"Tell 'rex ello 'or me, pwease?"

M'k, lets go home now, hmm Little Crow?"

"T's col' Ow'wl!"

Newsreel

Three men found in yet another Narrows alley, With caved words on their foreheads. The startling words of rapist on two of the men and abuser on the other man. The three men have been taken in for questioning by the GPD.

April 2002

At work Nauru had been getting restless. During the long plays she had ben repeating her mantra in whispers, "Bored Ow'wl, 'm bored." So I taught her to read. I am actually really surprised at how fast she learns. She can't pronounce all the words but she reads them and tells me about them on the walk home. She's up to Dr. Seuss and she loves it. The reading, I mean. Her soft laughter is only loud enough for me to hear but **I** can hear it, and **that** is all that matters.

Alice is bringing her to the Library on her birthday in a few days. Nauru is very excited.

_I hope she doesn't give the librarian a heart attack._

Ibis/ Owl's eyes momentarily flicker white as she debates whether or not to tell her daughter.

"Nauru," the little girls' attention is brought back to the back of her mother's head, "

**That'd be funny, "Where's the fiction section, Ma'am?"**

**"Oh just over, Ahhh genius baby! Run for your lives!"**

The partner of my mind has a really weird sense of humor.

Nauru has been so quiet and cute on the catwalk, all the other crew members love her.

**Hell _Professor Wusk_ likes her and he _hates_ children. And I _am_ quoting here.**

The boys in crew sometimes give her piggyback rides after shows if people take a while to leave. Small pieces of pink sugar candy always find their ways into Nauru's harness, ready to be eaten by a hyper genius baby.

On the way to and from work we have only had to 'socialize' with men in dark alleys once or twice. For some reason rapist have been avoiding the area.

**After we carved up their stupid slimy bastard faces of course. Grex giggles**

_Did take em a while though._

**Weeeeell we never said they were sm'_a_rt, did we?**

Nauru giggles softly as she shuts the book, laying it onto of the small pile at her feet. "What's so funny, Little Laughs?" I whisper to her as I move the light, following Tobias onstage.

"They're all 'n a bo'lle Owl." She holds up the book to reveal "Fox 'n Socks"

"Ooh I like that one!"

Nauru sets the wobbling book down to rest her too small toddler arms. She sits quietly, content with the book, until the end of the show. I begin to pack up the set of color screens when Nauru pulls on my jeans. I look down at her chubby face, the one side of hair frizzed up from the rain.

"Owl c'n I go to school?" her big green eyes puppy dog wide. I sigh in slight annoyance, almost two year olds should not be wanting to go to school.

**Or know or to do puppy dog eyes that well!**

_Alice. _I state calmly

**Damn the puppies. And about school, she's a fucking genius course she's gunna want to go to school.**

_Little kids aren't even supposed to start reading till their 4 ish._

**Meta-human**

_What?!_

**Oh, you hadn't connected it yet! Weeeell let's let Mother Grex tell the story this time. You have super strength and super senses; she has a really fucking awesome brain. **Grex says slowly as if talking to a small child (excluding Nauru of course)

_That... explains a lot_. I sigh in defeat, slumping my posture.

I look back a Nauru and remember how the kids had teased Jonny in school. It was only me how was friends with him and that only got me bullied as well. I try not to think how lonely he was after I left. Stuck in a town no-one really wants to be in. At least I found Alice.

**Homeschool?** Grex suggests

**That's a thing, right?**

"Owl, wh't's Grex say'n?" Nauru's puzzled face looked up at me.

"Who told you about school? Alice?" At her nod I continue my questioning "What did Alice say about school?"

She thinks through her answer before, "Hat t's a place to learn wif uder ids." She says this as a question, as if she could be wrong.

"Yeah, Little Crow that's it." She smile her little toothy smile in happiness of being right. "But let's only do part of that k?"

Nauru cokes her to the side in confusion.

"Grex and I think **we** can teach you!"

She claps her hands together and beams up at me. Skipping she climbs into her harness. I clomp down the stairs making her laugh with each bounce. It's as we exit the theater doors that she drops the bombshell, "Owl who's Jonny?"

My steps stutter as I trip over the door frame.

"Jonathan Crane. He... was a friend in grade school."

"Doctor?!" She asks excitedly bouncing the metal frame into my back.

**_Doctor? _**Grex and I sit confused in the recesses of our mind.

"Where'd ya hear that, Little Crow?" I stutter out

There is a long pause that all mothers and babysitters know as the 'I did something' pause.

"There was a paper under the couch, was k to read it?" She worries

**Wow... she read that whole pamphlet, just woOow!**

"What did the pamphlet say Nauru?"

"Dr. Jonatan Cwane, wecntly twansferd from Gotham Centwal College to Arkham Asylum. He is still taking up citizen patients." She quotes.

I stand on the sidewalk in shock.

_She remembers everything_

**Meta-human**

_But still..._

"You... remember the whole paper?" I feel a squirm on my back that could possibly be nodding. She says something scares me beyond any fear of J-him, "Owl, I 'member everything."

**We should meet up with him, Jonny I mean. **Grex grins from her corner of our mind.

Saturday 7:02 am – The Apartment

I slowly shut the apartment so as not to wake Alice from her hibernation. The lock clicks shut and I turn down the stairs, skipping over the squeaky steps. The harness bounces gently on my back, lightly jostling Nauru.

**It's too eeeeaarllllly!** Grex whines for the hundredth time.

_Nauru's awake, what's your excuse?_

Grex stays silent not wanting to get usurped by a toddler.

"Owl, 's Jonny nice?" Nauru yawns at the end drawing out the O in Jooooonny.

**She is still sleepy! Ha!**

Nauru had complained all last night that she wanted to meet my 'friend'.

**Will he even remember you? **Grex wonders.** I mean it was second grade. I barely remember it and I remember nearly everything.**

Alice got fed up with the toddler following us everywhere, whining. Even before Grex did, surprisingly, and told me in great detail that I was going to take Nauru with me because she had a day off and wanted to sleep.

**Well, at least we got the 'rust bug'**. She says derisively

_True, and for the last time, it's not **that** bad!_

The car down screeches loudly as it opens. Grex just snorts. I sink into the faded leather as I start the engine. The click of Nauru's car seat gets me out of the morning fog.I find myself in an uncomfortable positon over the driver's seat leaning onto Nauru's seat, holding the closed buckle.

**You're welcome**

The drive down into the Narrows is that time of "Ahhh sun in my eyes! Ahhhh Pedestrian! Ahhh we're there, kiss the building!" But yanno it's Arkham and the building looks gross. It's an old crumbling stone that might have been painted white at some point but it was the Narrows. Things that were meant to be clean didn't normally stay that way long.

**Cops, cars, Judge and jury of course.**

The dirty building was of a decent size though it looked more mansion like than a secure building. The many glass windows that over looked the beautiful view of the narrows (heavy sarcasm) were fogged and most had bars over them. Rusty spikes lined the roof creating an aura of a giant mouth waiting to devour anyone unfortunate enough to have to enter. All in all I really didn't want to go in.

Nauru asked, "Why'd we stop? Oh!" Her little jaw dropped open in shot, eyes wide in wonder, "Pretty!"

**Huh? Pretty? That building is fickin terrifying.**

The rusty but still impressively thick gate was guarded by a young guard.

_He has the look of someone who drew the short stick._

He just looked at me in distaste as though going into the Asylum was going to make me crazy.

"Reason for coming to Arkham?" He drawled

"I am here to see Dr. Crane." Grex said through me not having the patience with the boy to have a staring contest.

"Identification." He held out his hand, I pass him my driver's license. "Ibis Crow." He nods looking at the picture. A small giggle from the back seat draws his attention slowly back to the car. A small smile touches his mouth when he spots Nauru lying in the back. The guard passes back my license and pushes the big red button to open the gates. "Be careful." He tells me going back to the slight glare.

**Weeeell he woke up on the wrong side of the bed!**

The drive to the parking lot was bumpy and uncomfortable, The parking lot was even worse. The entire lot was only large enough for maybe 30 cars. But giant potholes pockmarked the surface destroying at least a fourth of the space.

**Is there a bus for the Doctors to get here? Cause there's only like 6 cars.**

Indeed there was, but they were all **nice** cars. Really nice cars. There's a Prius in the corner and several Mazda's in the middle unbroken section, but there were several cars that were just that cars most of these were worse than my Beetle.

**And _that_ is bad.**

_I suppose these are either Nurses cars or visiting patients like us._

The walkway was crooked cement and small withered looking trees. Nauru looks at the large building wide eyed, "Owl t's grey." Nauru starts to giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"Maybe Jonny's gwey too?!" I laugh with her, relieving some of the oppressing atmosphere of Arkham.

Heavy metal doors creak open when I push them open. I shift Nauru on my hip as I take in the sparse room. A small desk sits in the middle of an empty room. On the white-ish grey walls is a big yellow flower.

_A daisy?_

**I don't care what it is, the smile is deranged.**

Behind the small cheap desk sits an older looking lady, her white hair in short white curls. Faded blue eyes twinkle behind small circular wire glasses. Her wrinkled face lifts up into a toothy smile, "Oh are you the young lady here to see Dr. Crane?" When I nod affirmative she continues, "He's going to be running late today, an Inmate tried to escape, and then he has to do run the 'sessions and those take a few hours if they go well. But they are top priority, "Our goal is to help troubled minds."" She looks up at me, the smile looking a bit demented and the twinkling eyes more a glint a suppressed insanity. "but we should be able to fit you in after lunch, K dearie?"

_Isn't she supposed to breath?'_

**She hasn't blinked yet either.**

_Do we look away?_

**No, that's a display of weakness.**

So we continue the stare down, until Nauru divert the crazed woman's attention by pulling on my Gotham Pitchers baseball tee, and asking, "Owl how long's lnch?"

"OoOoOohhhh what a darling little thing you are," the womans fingers pinch together as if she wants to pinch Nauru's cheeks, "but what's wrong with your hair?" The woman looks down at the now nervous child in my arms, looking over her scalp. "Oh, bad genes!" My fists tighten as she looks me over appraisingly. Snidely she slowly spoke, "No not your mother then," A small trickle of blood runs from my fingers as I tense waiting for the question, "Who's your father dearie?"

My Little Crow looks at my fist and then down at the ground at the small droplets of blood of the scuffed grey floor before giving the barmy woman a glare I have never seen on her face.

_She looks like **him**._

"Mom**m**y does**n't **_li**k**_e to tal**k** abou-t him." The woman cowers in her cheap swivel chair from the anger that is a pissed off Crow.

**Wow **

_Did she just?_

**She pulled an Alice**

_Terrify them with creepy cuteness?_

**_ Awesome! _**We think in unison

"Where is Dr. Crane's office, we'll wait there." I sigh trying and failing to make hand unclench my nails from my palm.

Grr. Rip, tear, bite.

An unbidden scene flashed across my eyes, me ripping out the older lady's throat. Her blood gushing from her throat as she screams. I feel the warm liquid seeping through my fingers.

_Nauru_! I reprimand Grex from her fantasizes

**Fine! We won't kill her _today_. If she says anything else I _will_ take the body and find when Alice is babysitting. **

The woman (untouched) has risen slightly in her chair to point down one of the hallways. "D-down the hallway, and t-to the right twice." To her credit she didn't completely freak out, course she works in an Asylum gotta have **some** backbone.

**Apparently no _brains_ though.** A small sneer twitches across my mouth with the force of Grex's disli- oh who am I kidding, she hates the crazed secretary more than Greg.

We turn away from the desk and move toward the door to the hallway. I shove open the white double hospital doors and walk, clutching Nauru to me.

_Well, **she** was a bitch!_

I must have said this out loud because Nauru bobs her head in agreement. "No I will not repeat that Owl." She interjects before I even open my mouth to say anything.

We turn right from the empty hallway, and get welcomed to HELL. A long hallway is lined on both sides with bared doors. The familiar scents of blood and cleaner is overpowering, faintly mixed with vomit and fecal matter. Fear radiated out of every cage pouring off their body's like sweat. Grex is raging ripping for control, to run to hide.

**We're not there. We can't be there! He's not here. Run Bite! Fuck Ibis come back don't leave **me here! She wails stuck in a flashback.

Darkness starts to creep up the edges of my vision.

**We're back! Dead, please just kill me now!**

_Grex! Calm down! Calm, we're in Arkham. It's safe. HE IS NOT HERE!_

"Gwex what's wrong?! Owl?"

Nauru's panicked voice brings us out of the panic filled blackness.

We had stopped and froze halfway down the hall. The screams that I thought were Grex, were the inmates on either side screaming. A mix of "Go the FUCK Away!" and "Bring dat ass ova here!", a few were just screaming just to scream.

**Sorry** Grex mutters, before cutting herself off from the world for a bit.

_It's fine_ I console her.

Sprint walking down the rest of the hallway, I slam into a white blur just as I turn the second corner. "Sorry, I'm so sorry!" I squeak.

Piercing icy blue eyes X-ray me when I lower my free hand to pick him up off the grimy tile. He does eventually reach for it. I look him over quickly, making sure I didn't break him.

_His long fingers are cool to the touch_

**But not broken**

_His arms are covered by the standard white coat _

**Also not broken**

_A thin male torso. He's not wheezing or hunched over_

**No broken ribs then**

**_Nice nose! _**The one thing we agree on, noses are.

**No blood not broken**

His crisp white coat lapel is flipped up so I brush it down hurriedly trying not to be creepy. "Sorry." I repeat, and I slide past him to continue my walk (slightly slower) down the hallway. The tapping of his shoes starts up again soon after. This section of the hallway is darker, the overhead lights flicker every few seconds. The light is faintly orange/ yellow tinted, leaving the grimy tile an almost brown tint.

**You sure his office is this way?**

_There was only two turns! Where else would it be?!_

**Ahh there! On the right!**

Dr. J crane is emblazed on an off white plack nailed to a freshly painted white door.

**I never thought 'white' would look nice, but...**

I stand in front of the door shifting awkwardly.

_What if he's inside? What do I say? What if he yells? Will he remember me? Will he still be that akward kid I knew? Will he-_

A sharp jab in my ribs stops my freaking out. Nauru had poked her short baby finger into my side. She looks at me with 'The Glare of Alice', "Owl go inside. I wanna read!" she whines.

My shaky hand slowly turns the brass knob, my wide eyes reflected in it. The door swings open, to... an empty room. The light from the hallway creeps around me illuminating an old chipped desk. Neat piles of paper tower over the open but dark computer. Filling cabnets line the wall to my right. I flip the light switch, blinking as the florescent light burns into my retnas. An old grey wallpaper peeks through the many, many bookshelves. A faded maroon border cirlces the small office.

Silence echoes in my ears leaving a throbbing beat in my head, behind my eyes.

_My heartbeat_

I set Nauru in a hard plastic chair. I pull a simple maths worksheet out of my pocket and hand it to her along with a pencil. "Little Crow I need you to read me the problems and I'll explain why the answer is the answer. K, Little Crow?"

"M'k Owl!" She giggles exited to have her first math lesson, in Arkham. "5+3=8

Narrator

If anyone would have walked down that dimly light hall, they would have heard the chanting of numbers and giggles. As it happens an hour into the maths session one Dr. Crane turned the corner just as the child's laughter filled the hall. "And 2+12 is?"

"14!" the high bubbly voice exclaimed after a small pause.

Dr. Crane's poker face lifted for a moment to show a flash of confusion before settling back on the mask of calm indifference. Inside he was reeling, "Had they found his projects! No they wouldn't be laughing if they had. Besides who brings a child to look for dangerous papers? Crazy people. He decided smirking a bit at the irony. His panicking mind decided on his usual plan with Dawes, quick and to the point. Unless it was a client, then he would attempt to be nice. Attempt being a key word.

* * *

So how was Crane? Really, tell me!


	8. Panic Attacks and Pastries

I am soo sorry for the late update. But I was at a conference for two weeks. I couldn't write and I'm just now getting home. I hope this isn't too fluffy. I mean, it's meant to be fluffy but there's a **point** to the fluffy.

* * *

Ibis

I wasn't facing the door so I didn't realize anyone had entered the office until a looming presence came to stand behind me. A distinctly male scent of sandalwood and chemicals followed it closely. The unfortunate sent of fear mingled with his own,

** Not his though** Grex noted

seemed to have imbedded itself into the man. I breathed it in attempting to categorize it. There was no specific person in the scent; the hallway leading here came to mind.

_Oh!_

**He's clear.**

"Little Crow, who's behind me?" I ask softly. The man scoffs at the idea of talking to a baby but stays silent staring at the back of my head. Nauru looks up, behind my sitting body.

"Oh!" She breathes, eyes going wide. The slight scent of apprehension drifts up from her, "T's the man oo wan into." I twist my torso around and look up. The familiar icy blue eyes stare in shock at Nauru. Dark brown, almost black, hair is lightly tussled but is pushed back behind his ears. Thin silver frames hold up thick-ish glasses. These rest on a (very nice) straight nose.

**No, it's definitely been broken at least once**.

_Shit! Nose, eyes, hair._

"Jonny?!" I whisper

The cool blue eyes stare at me blankly, "Lima Bean?" I ask slowly. A slow connective realization crosses his face.

His thin lips quirk in a small smile to ask me, "Ibis, is that you?" A wide smile grows on his thin face. I quiver in excitement.

"Am I still allowed to hug you?" I say pulling my signature puppy dog eyes. He slowly nods. "Yay hugs!" I yelp excitedly. I wrap my old friend in a tight hug. He keeps his arms in his customary position by his sides.

**He still hasn't learned how to hug**. Grex pouts

I release him quickly before he tenses up. "So... Professor and a Doctor in what?" I ask attempting to make the silence shorter.

"Psychology, Pharmacology, and Pharmaceuticology." He replies, trying and failing to look less smug at the list

"Skip a few grades, did you Jonny?" I tease him nudging him like I used to do in church all those years ago. Somehow we slip into teasing conversation until the third dreaded question arose. "What is her name?" He asks looking down at Nauru reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

"Nauru Dela Crow." I reply

For some reason he looks relieved at hearing the last name. But he does not ask questions 1 and 2. We lapsed back into conversation for perhaps half an hour, only interrupted by Nauru asking meaning of the longer complicated words. A small buzz from the sleek watch Jonny's wearing seems to snap him out of the calm, mostly happy, mood he's in. "Ibis I have to go, but tomorrow, could I pick you up for coffee?"he asks, shifting his weight back and forth.

**Wow he looks-**

_Nervous, Jonny's nervous._

"Sure, I don't have class on Sundays." I scribble my cell number and Apartment complex on a scrap of paper that was in my pocket, and hand it to him saying, "Don't call, please text me. Oh and just pick me up outside, K?"

He nods in agreement looking only a little puzzled at my request. "I'll walk you out?" he asks, holding out his arm formally.

"Sure!" I giggle while picking up Nauru. I link elbows with my Doctor/Friend/Date.

**My?** Grex asks

_Shut UP_!

I shift Nauru into a better position on my hip with my free arm, and without further ado slide out the door and into the flickery orangey hallway. We pad down the hallway and turn the corner to the psych ward. This time it's dead silent. The only thing heard was the soft thuds of my converse and the taps of Jonny's leather shoes.

**It's too quiet.** Grex murmurs

Not soon enough we turn into the front lobby. The crazed secretary/nurse looked up and went bug-eyed. She looked frantically between Jonny and I, moving her mouth up and down like a fish.

"Don't go on many dates do ya, Jonny?" I tease him nudging him slightly. If anything this comment makes the woman jaw drop even further, But I made Jonny smirk.

_Look he's almost smiling!_

"Date?" he asks

"Corse Lima-Bean." I flutter my eyes, making Nauru giggle as she looks at the scene. Jonny lets go of my elbow in a smooth motion, motioning me towards the door.

"I'll pick you up at 1, then?" he asks. I nod in affirmation. "Good," Jonny walks with me past the desk and opens the doors for me, "Good day Nauru, Ibis."

"Tomorrow." I reply waving to him while walking out the doors. They click shut behind me as I walk out to the parking lot. I stumble into a pot hole as I move around a parked car. Unlocking the car I place Nauru into the seat.

"Owl is Doter Cwane your boyfwiend?" Nauru asks as I click her into her car seat. I choke on air. Wheezing as I slide into the Beetle I ask, "Little Crow, where'd you hear that word?"

She shrugs her small shoulders as best she can while pinned to a chair. "Alice thinks you need one." Is all she says before letting her head flop onto the head support.

Alice and I will be having words!

**Gossipy words or 'GRrRr' words?** Grex asks playfully innocent.

**If it _is_ 'GrRr' can I help?**

_I don't know yet, and no! No helping!_

**Damn.** She pouts, sulking in the back corners.

30 Minutes Later

_Gossipy, I'm going with Gossipy!_

**Damn, I was hoping for a good cat fight.**

I skip up the stairs, bouncing Nauru on my hip. This is the happiest I've felt since Nauru learned to talk. I run into our apartment scaring Alice from her Supernatural.

**Good Show!**

"Ga Ibis you wanna kill me or something?!" Alice fumbles for the remote stuck in-between the cushions. . I set Nauru by the door. Slowly she pushes pause. By this time I am practically vibrating with anticipation.

"Alice, Alice, AliceAliceAlice." I bounce around the couch chanting her name. Alice finally looks up at me. My wig has fallen off sometime in the bouncing and my hair has fuzzed out. Probably making me look demonic, but I can feel the smile. It's not Grex's Cheshire Cat smile, The nearly painful one pulling at muscles I have only just started using. Nor is it the strained smirk. It is a full strength 'Just got my letter to Hogwarts' S-M-I-L-E! The smile seems to be contagious because Alice begins smiling with me. "What's got you so happy?" she asks

"I," I pause for dramatic effect, "have a date!" I begin to giggle like a teenage girl.

**Harleen *cough, cough***

My nose crinkles slightly in the disgust of being compared to that bubbly nuisance. "You know, I haven't been on a date since... sophomore year of high school." I begin to panic "I- What am I supposed to do? What do I wear?"

Alice's eyes widen in shock, "Really eight years of no guys!" she sounds shocked. I start to pace the strip of carpet in front of the T.V.

"Really, I have never been a real date. It was only to a movie and he threw up on me halfway through. So I'm not sure if that counts... Is that normal?" I ask aloud, but really to no one in particular, "To never go on dates?... Even you go at **least** once a month!" Alice just looks at me, panic showing in her eyes. I've only had four break downs in all the two years and all were very **very** bad. Two of them amounted in hospital visits for anti-depressant pills and who knows what else. "My Mum thought I was a-sexual for a **really** long time."

Alice pulls me from my pacing and down next to her on the couch. I squish myself into her side, basking in her warmth. She slowly combs through my side of hair. Alice waves Nauru to come over to our small huddle on the couch. Before this she had been sitting in the doorway observing my erratic behavior.

Nauru struggles to climb the couch, so I gently lift her into my arms and cuddle her to my chest like she does her teddy bear.

"What if I mess it up? I mess up everything, Alice."

Huffily Alice asks, "Is Nauru messed up?! Is our friendship messed up? Your boy Jonny didn't seem to think so!"

I clutch Nauru closer. Quietly I reply, "No, neither of you are. But Gregory keeps looking at me weird when I pass him. The secretary almost made me cry! And," I pause sucking in a deep breath, "I'm a nerd!"

**That's all you got?!**

Alice snickers softly but continues her soft petting.

"Wh't's a nerd?" Nauru asks in a whisper.

Both Alice and I burst into laughter at the comedy of the question.

**Crisis averted!** Grex smiles

I sink in a haze of _SuperNatural_.

Sunday Morning 9:30 am

I fling myself out of bed hitting the floor with a loud thud.

_Am I late? Is it Monday? Shit, I'm getting fired!_

**No! Calm down, it is _Sunday_, and... _that_ is a _bright_ sticky note!**

Grex directs my attention to my bedroom door. A light purple sticky with faded green question marks scattered across it is stuck just above the door knob.

_Morning Ibis, I have taken Nauru to the zoo, so don't worry about her. It's covered. I've also gone through your closet and picked out something appropriate for your date. __J _

_PS_

_You should go running. That always seemed to un-stress you during finals._

_PPS_

_I'll be back at four. If not the Beetle broke down...again._

**Fine, we'll keep her.** Grex grumbles

_Yeah! Go Alice!_

Throwing on some shorts and a hoody was no problem it was the wig that held me up. I don't like going out in public without it but I'd be on the roofs so it shouldn't matter.

**Just put the hood up!**

_Fine! Be pushy, see where it gets you!_

**Well I'm stuck with you soooo...**

**Where you go, I'll go! Where you stay, I'll stay**. Grex breaks into a few bars of song while prancing around inside my mind.

_Ugh!_

I jump out the window quickly, hoping to outrun her screeching. Alas, she's in my mind. Can't outrun **that**.

In a matter of minutes I'm in the narrows. The craggily stone work makes everything easier to cling to or I should say, easier than metal. Occasionally I have to step carefully on the thin roofs. Most of these buildings are condemned and would be taken down if Gotham cared.

**Which she doesn't. **Grex sulks as we roll sideways under an elevated metal box only to be forced to dive to the side, dodging a large hole.

**Damn, that was close.**

_Yeah, it was!_

My face lifts into a smile. I... have missed this. The running, the adrenaline rush after near death experiences, the air rushing by me, full with the sounds and smells of the city. No fear, no, there's none of that here.

The rubber of my shoes squelches against the wet stone. The water makes my grip on ledges harder to maintain, but it's a challenge I love. The semi new strength I now attempt to master, leaping lengths I had not even considered trying two years ago before... that. Fighting with super strength and running with it are surprisingly different. I assume it's the different muscles he injected-

**No! We are not thinking we came up here to not think!**

_Ignoring her statement._

**Ow**. She deadpans

A wall looms in front of me extending upward at least three stories. 50 feet till impact.

_I wonder..._

30 feet and I start picking up speed. 20 feet, 10 feet. At 5 feet I tense my muscles and jump up hitting the wall with my left foot. Where I would have normally have fallen backwards into a back-flip I continue upwards. Not 5 feet from the ledge top my momentum slows. I lunge upward digging my fingers into the brick, my shoes scramble for purchase sliding off the slick rock. The tips find an indention and I push off. My arms grapple the ledge and I pull my legs up and over to straddle the wall. The sun blinds me when I look up.

**Aah, looks like our 5 seconds of sun is here!**

I shut my eyes absorbing the warmth on my skin. The soft red light glows into my eyes through the eyelids. All too soon a cloud steals my heat. The hood had slipped off on my climb up the building. A small breeze causes my short hair to whip around my face. The light sheen of sweat on my face cools. City smells fly by my nose, oil, sweat, food.

_Why haven't we done this before?_

**Haven't thought about it, I guess. **

We look out at the city. Small cars drive in the uptown of Gotham. Even smaller people walk in the daylight, unafraid, as if muggings **only** happen at night.

**I guess we thought fighting was all we needed.**

I check my watch. The silver hands tick around the glass circle, 10:33.

_Run or taxi?_

**At the rate it takes you to get ready... better take a taxi.**

I pull the hood over my ears again. Jogging over to a rusty emergency stair I kick the lever that sticks up out of the side. The metal screams as it falls clanging on to the lower level of roofs. I tentatively step down on the cold iron work.

**Go, or we'll be here all day!**

Next thing I know I'm in the back of a taxi.

_What?!_

**You were going to slow!** Grex defends herself.

_Urgh! Just ask and (maybe) you will receive._

**FINE Fine fine ****fine.**

Flash-Forward

12:00 am

I walk over to the small dresser and pick up the set of clothing Alice has laid out. It looks to be a nice casual outfit. Slim-fitted jeans lay under an ironed light blue button up.

_Long sleeves_. I note happily

Stuck near the second button hole are two small silver studs.

_Alice thought of everything. _

I stick my foot in a black converse and yank it off quickly. A thin sliver chain is dropped into my palm when I flip the offending shoe.

**Nooo, _now_ she did.**

I smile at my reflection. The girl in the mirror has a fit shapely body. Her toned long legs flex under the jeans as she moves. Her collar bones are the only skin showing below her face. The rest is covered up in a loose, light blue shirt. A sliver owl frozen in mid-wing beat hangs over the shirt. The silvery gleam of the pendant lights up the girls' icy blue eyes.

I frown as a bit of hair pokes my eye. I remember my long wavy hair. The short hair sticks up wildly, flipping in strange directions. Making me look half crazed no matter how nicely I dress. I numbly sit a shoulder length black wig on my head, pinning it in place with my remaining hair. The wig will never look as nice, and it itches! Two years and I still haven't gotten over not having hair.

The wig stopped the stares though.

The month after J-J-him! I had attempted to go about my life as normal. But every time I turned the corner a new face would be ready to mock me with either looks of disgust at my patchy balding head or fake sympathy from the few who knew me.

I walk out of the small theater, full of the feelings of success that I can only get afer a good show. Unfortunately the feeling can only last a little while. A shoulder pushes past me on the dark street. "Sorry." The man's gruff voice says. He looks over at me in apology. His eyes widen at the sight of my mostly bald head. "Freak!" he hisses.

_I sit on a park bench in the better part of Gotham taking in the rare sunlight. A mother and small boy walk past on the small trail in front of me. I think of my baby inside and faintly smile at the pair. "Mommy, what's that?" the child asks pointing at me._

_The mother notices me and lifts her nose in disgust. She pulls her boy closer to her leg. "A freak honey, don't look at it. That encourages them." They hurry past me, the boy looking through his mother's legs to look back at me. A lone tear slips down my cheek as the sun slips back behind the ever-present clouds._

_He said he marked me... he really did, I'm nothing more than a freak._

I look back at the girl in the mirror. A single tear falls down her face. It traces a cheekbone before falling off her chin. I wipe the tear streak away.

**You're not a freak. People are just dicks. And if they are going to insult you then they aren't worth getting noticed, and I will delete them!** Grex snarls the last sentence a sneer popping onto my tear streaked face**.**

_Thank you_. I mumble

**I know, I'm _just_ that awesome. **She says

_She is sooooo full of herself._

**No, I am not!**

My phone buzzes against my thigh. I slide into out of my pocket into my hand. A small blue blurb pops up on the screen.

_Jonny_

**Weeeeell, someone has a crush.**

_Shh_

_I will be there in two minutes._

_ J.C._

_Even in text he is grammatical._

**Loooooove Doctor!**

_Shhh!_

_Shit two minutes!_

I began to throw anything I tough I could need into a small purse. I swept on eyeliner and a few dabs of mascara I could have put on more, but really, who's looking?

**Crane.** Grex deadpans

_Fuck!_

My conversed feet thud against the wood. The green door slams shut behind me. the old creaky stairs squeal as I sprint down them. Through the smudged glass I spot a yellow smear.

**Taxi**

In an act of desperation to reach the door first I leap down the last six steps landing with my knees bent. The door opens just as I finish fixing my ever so crooked wig.

A tall figure walks smoothly into the entryway. He stops in front of me smirking.

"Ibis coffee?" the tenor voice snaps me out of staring at the blue eyes.

"Hmm," is my, oh so intelligent, reply, "Oh yes coffee! There's a nice place by the college, if you want." My stammering brings Cranes' smirk into a full smile.

**Smooth Ibis, smooth.**

_Shh!_

Jonny is dressed like he has never been on a casual, maybe, date before. His stance is tense like he thinks I'm gunna try and run away from him. He at least tried to dress casually with a white long sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans, but he ruined ant attempt ant normality with his shoes. The leather dress shoes that peeked out from his jeans were an older pair, scuffed and worn on the toes. I am sure they were broken in and felt wonderful but they were still dress shoes. He held out his elbow in the Victorian style he has always imitated, even as a second grader.

"Shall we?" Jonny asks gesturing with his other arm toward the still open door. Gotham's smoggy skies cloud even the sunny afternoon this day had promised, **if** we had lived in any other city than Gotham. Only small sections of sunlight break through briefly before the smoggy clouds consume it once more.

I smile at the old fashionedness of the offered arm before taking it in my own. He leads me out of the building onto the sidewalk. Then he looks at me questioningly.

"Down three blocks then to the right." I grin slightly at the sight of a Crane who doesn't know the answers to everything.

'So how was the lovely town of Arlen?" Jonny does not react except for a slight flinch.

_Shit, bad topic! Back track!_

"Never mind, you don't have to-"

He cut me off, "It was... difficult, after you left. No one would associate with me."

**Idiots!**

I must have spoken Grex's' sentiments out loud because Jonny's face lifted into something less frowny. He continued to speak, "Then in middle-school they started with the..." Jonny's eyes turned to look at me briefly, "They shoved me in lockers, burned my homework, and threw rocks to keep away the '_Scarecrow'_."

His posture slumped as if a great weight had landed on his shoulders.

**He's waiting for your response.**

I pull the tense arm closer to me. I rest my head on his shoulder going on to say, "The world can go fuck themselves," I stop and wait till my Lima Bean looks down at me, "A friend recently told me, 'If people are going to be dicks, then they aren't worth remembering and I **will _delete_** them.'"

"Wise friend." Jonny says looking at me with a small smile.

"Only sometimes." I smirk widely

**Hey! I am a... decently-smart person/thing/being!**

I tug Jonny to the right.

"Cheery conversation starter ain't it?" My mouth speaks before my filter can catch it.

Jonny looks at me with the timeworn 'Ibis don't be an idiot' face. I start to giggle, the 'look' melts away in confusion. My giggle turns into a full-belly laugh.

"What is there something on my face?" Crane asks full of panic. I hug him; nodding no into his chest and feeling him relax pull him into the café

Soft classic rock mingles with the voices of college students studying. There's only a few sitting in corners because it **is** a Sunday. Now I'm not saying that most Gothammites go to church, most of them probably use the day to sleep.

Hmm, that's a funny thought, Jonny sitting in church voluntarily. It's laughable.

I look up at him. He had regained his, 'I am superior to you in all ways' glare. Several students look up to see who had walked into the small shop. The male populates were leering at me like I was a slide of meat, but the sweeping icy gaze of Crane made them cower back into their seats, along with all the people sitting. and the cashier, Charlie.

**He looks scared shit less. **

"What's up Chuck?!" I say happily in my standard greeting. Several of the cowerers slowly start talking again. "So Jonny, this is Charles. Chuck, this is Jonathan Crane. Don't call him Jonny, that's mine!"

If I had thought my sad attempt at humor would calm him down I was severely mistaken. Chucks already pasty complexion turned white. "P-P-Professor?" he squeaks. I look back and forth between the two men. Slow realization spreads across Jonny's face; a small nearly hidden smirk twitches the corners of his mouth.

"Ah, Mr. Erikson. No I'm afraid it's _Doctor_ now." A small sigh puffs out of Chuck while a tiny bit of red seeps back into his cheeks.

"Your order, sir?" Chuck squeaks

"Regular, Black." Jonny says

Chuck looks at me, "The usual, Chuck."

Jonny still connected to me via elbow, leads me to an empty table by a clear window.

**Well I would say Chuck already knows our Jonny.**

_Ya think?!_

My bug-eyed face is reflected off his silvery glasses, reminding me that gapping at people is rude. I shut my mouth. The smirk grows. "So," I say to break the silence, "What was that?"

_That was supposed to sound to sound more articulate._ I groan.

Jonny if anything looks amused. His eyes flick from me to Chuck and then out the window. He, a couple moments later looks back at me. "I taught psychology for two years. Mr. Erikson was one of my students." He looks far off out the window, "The school board didn't seem to like my teaching methods."

_How can **you** teach badly? He was a great teacher!_

**Maybe he was still on phobias? You were always the one to want to change topics.**

_Not true! He got off beetles on his own._

_But really... that's a Long time to be on one topic! That's a bit extreme!_

**He might have gone to something else. Maybe... probably not.**

"How in the world were you teaching?" I ask slightly worried.

He sighs and turns a bit flushed.

**Jonny embarrassed!? Naw!**

"I 'um' tried to teach them how '_you'_ liked to learn. More of a 'hands on' approach than the other Professors taught."

_'Um', he's embarrassed. He never uses 'um'. Jonny was 7 and never used 'um'._

I smirk when he realizes he said the dreaded filler word, 'Um', and turns even redder. "So what in psychology was your point of interest?" I ask.

Jonny looks relieved that I am not going to bring up the 'um'. "Fear and its effects on the human mind." He replies smugly.

**This just got interesting.**

"So you found your life's calling in second grade? Cool!"

He flushes again.

**He's like a stoplight on, off, on, off**

"I would like to think that I have refined it since then!" He pouts in a manly way.

**Pouting is never manly.**

Chuck in his still slightly squeaky voice meeps, "72 your orders ready."

I look at the ticket stub that has lain forgotten between us on the table, a bold 72 is stamped on the slick paper. Jonny and I stand in unison. Before he can even open his mouth to say he'll pay for it I babble quickly, "We'll split it, k?"

I make use of the time tested puppy-dog face and his Georgian bred manners crumble.

**Never let Nauru use that on Crane he'll lose ever time!**

"Fine," he grumbles, "Only you can still pull off the stunts of a seven year old child at twenty-four and get away with it."

"Wreawy? You mean it?" I strengthen the look, "I'm sure you could pull it off."

We reach the counter and in unison reach for our wallets. Chuck waves us off, "Ibis, I told you that your first date here would be free. No paying!" He waggles his finger at me in a teasing manner. Then he looks at Jonny and gulps.

_Jonny's scowling, why is he scowling?_

**He must think Chuck's flirting.**

_But I don't like Charlie._

**Jonny doesn't know that.**

"Sir your order." Chuck continues to squeak.

Jonny grabs both our paper bags from Chuck. He proceeds to hooks his arm around my waist and stalks off to our small table. We sit back in our respective spots. He looks at his coffee somewhat awkwardly. "SoOo, is this a date?" I ask. Jonny turns red once again, "or is it more a re-meeting of friends type thing?

**You sure do have the best conversation starters!** Grex mocks me with sarcastic enthusiasm.

_I know it's a talent._ I snark back.

Jonny licks his lips nervously, "I don't know." I tip my head in confusion. "I 'um' never have had a real reason to date, soooo I 'erm' didn't."

_Jonny's never dated?_

**You would have thought that at college at least-**

_No one thought he was worth the effort_! I rage, pacing the corner of my mind.

_Jonny's frickin awesome! Why can't people attempt to get through the glare?!_

**So date him.**

_What!?_

**You like him, aaaannd you pretty much already asked.**

_Did I?_

**Yes, yes you did.**

I start to nod, "I'd like it to be a date. I haven't 'really' ever been on a date either." Thinking of barf-boy, I cringe.

Jonny's blue eyes look at mine. He asks, "So you and Erikson aren't...?" he waves his hands back and forth.

"NO, no, Chucks like an older brother. I come here often enough that the everyday people are nearly family."

His blush disappears once again.

* * *

Please review! It's how I get such good Ideas. Thank you.


	9. Birds of a Feather

Thank you to Suki-Fictionist, your reviews have helped tremendously.

* * *

Ok this chapters a little weird. I know where I'm going with it now, but _man_!

So anyways, pay attention to time, day and **especially** who's talking. Otherwise the thing won't make any sense!

Sunday 10:00 am

Crane

...

...

What do people wear to a date?

* * *

Saturday

After Ibis Had Left

When I spoke to Dr. Arkham about taking this Sunday off, he looked to be disturbingly happy to hear this information.

"Find a girl didja my boy?" Dr. Arkham giggles though the layers of fat. His face looms from his gelatos red face. Tiny droplets of sweat creep down his skin, sticking the collar of his already stained blue shirt to his thick rolling neck.

I strain a (hopefully) polite smile and tensely ask, "Where did you hear that?"

_He is my boss. Be nice! Be nice!_

His chins wobble as he bounces around his desk, grabbing fallen papers. "Oh, Dolores." He says.

_Ms. Epp. Maybe I should test the latest compound. I'm sure she'd loooove it._

I feel a wide smile overtake my features and normal (even _slightly_ observant) people would look upon it and back away slowly. Unfortunately Arkham either did not see it or was lacking the instincts most human beings have. I vote for the latter. "You know, I'm really glad you're gonna take off a day. I've been trying to get you to take a rest for the whole two years you've been here!"

_Keep the smile! No growling!_

Finally, the silence ended as I stood in front of the door. I try not to let my face show disgust at the rolls of fat wriggling on Dr. Arkham as he bounces around me continuing his mad hunt for the scattered papers, and then plopping them into rough piles on his desk. My OCD twitches, wanting to straighten them.

"Oh.- Jonathan! You're still here! Hmm, yes have tomorrow off, that's fin. Go get your girl!" He scuttles toward me, flapping his arms like the loons he 'helps'. I flew out the door.

* * *

Sunday

10:30 am

I pull on my only pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I check the small closet for shoes. In the very back I unearth an old pair of tattered running shoes.

_Nope._

The soles are falling off and there are holes in the sides.

_From a rat perhaps._

Not a great first impression that. I grab light brown leather shoes and stalk away from the closet.

_Why did I invite her on a date? Is it even a date? Do I want it to be a date?_

This simple, mundane, thought makes me pause in trying my shoe. I don't recall ever having that thought. My fingers twitch.

_Looks as if Grandmother was wrong, I am able to have feelings. _

_I have never had the inclination to reciprocate feelings, but for some incomprehensible reason the woman has the-_

_NO! I must not think that way; it might not **be** a date._

I slide my wallet in my back pocket, and then call a taxi. The wallet sits uncomfortably on the back of my thigh.

_Greeeaaat, waiting!_

I start to pace the sidewalk in front of my house. The time seems to crawl, for the sole purpose of giving me **more** time to think. I toe a crack in the sidewalk.

_I am **not** nervous. Nervousness is just an extension of fear._

_Dr. Jonathan Crane cannot **feel** fear, he **inspires** it._

I stumble slightly in my smooth gait and scuff the tip of my shoe on the crack.

I didn't want her to scream.

That's when a curious thought occurred to me. She has never once called me Jonathan. I have always been Jonny, and I never thought to correct her.

Perhaps Jonny can be nervous.

Luckily the cab pulls up to the curb before I get more mundane.

**No-t _p_ossible**

I look at my watch while sitting in the peeling seat, 11:45.

_Damn, let traffic be slow!_

* * *

12:58 pm

Shifting in front of the splintery door, I sigh, thinking of the only other girl I have picked up.

_No, I will not think of her! Ibis would not hurt me like that._

A light thump from the other side of the door shocks me out of depre- thoughts. I shake my head to clear them.

_Confident_!

I swing the door open and smirk. She obviously has just run down the stairs. Her hair is lightly fluffed in areas she had not yet pushed down.

Ibis's eyes light up when she recognizes me. Bright blue eyes stare intently at mine.

_She's beautiful._

Of course I do not vocalize this. A suave, "Ibis, coffee?" is instead what I say. She blinks her icy colored eyes as if clearing a fog.

"Hmm," she pouts her lips absently before the eyes widen comically wide. "Oh yes coffee! There's a nice place by the college, if you want." she stutters and unlike ever other human being I have heard it's cute. I feel a smirk spreading at the collage of words and at the blush that spread across her face.

I have decided long ago that Grandmother taught me very few things of value. Manners were one of the few usable ones. I whip my elbow out in the Victorian fashion that was imbedded into me by Grandmother.

**Literally, in most cases.**

Ibis smiles widely before taking my arm. Walking into the smoggy light she softly hums We're Off to See the Wizard. About a block down the street she asks, "So how was the lovely town of Arlen?"

I attempt not to react but a flinch slipped my control. She saw the slip and now seems to be panicking, in a rush she babbled, "Never mind you don't have to-?"

I interject,

_Might as well get it over with._

"It was... difficult, after you left. One would associate with me."

_Except to taunt me, of course._

"Idiots."

I look over at the woman walking with me, the slight dilating of the pupils and the tensing of facial muscles shows that the comment was unintentional, but... welcome. A small smile fits back on my face, before I continue my story. "Then in middle-school they started with the..." I glance at her; she looks at me with pity. No, not pity, empathy. "They shoved me in lockers, burned my homework, and threw rocks to keep away the '_Scarecrow'_."

**'Scarecrow'. I only did that once and it was delicious.**

The constant pull on my arm stutters. I begin to think that she will stay silent. So it surprises me when an exceptionally spiteful reply comes from Ibis, "Well the world can go fuck themselves." I look over her in slight shock to see eyes staring intently at me, the icy blue sparking. "A friend recently told me that if people are going to be dicks then they aren't worth remembering and I **will _delete_** them.'" At this she clung tighter to my arm. I smile at her ferocity.

**Sexy**

"Wise friend."

A wide smirk spreads across her face before a sarcastic, "Only sometimes!" bubbles from her. She tugs me to the right around a corner. Then she smiles up at me, "Cheerful conversation starter ain't it?"

The deadpan expression I use frequently on Arkham interns finds itself firmly planted on my face.

She start to snicker at me.

_Is something funny? _

Most people cower, or at least cringe, at 'the face' as I have heard it dubbed. 'The face' falls rapidly as confusion takes over. This only serves as to make her stop walking and hold her stomach wheezing. I start panicking so I blurt the first thing that comes to mind, "Is something on my face?" She looks at me and stops wheezing. Ibis throws her free arm around me in a hug. I tense under the arms, not used to people touching me, but she doesn't let go until I force my muscles to relax. Then she pops up under my shoulder. I let her drag towards the door emanating a strong smell of coffee.

Several people glance up at the door to watch us walk in. The male eyes stare at Ibis as if she is a two-bit whore. I feel her move slightly behind me, tensing, when she looks at them. I glare at them, knowing it will unnerve them. And indeed it does, they look down like dogs cowed into submission. Ibis squeezes my arm, and raises her hand to wave at the younger man standing behind the counter. I hide a smirk, when the man pales at seeing me.

"What's up Chuck?!" I hear Ibis cheerily ask, completely at odds with the mood I have set the room in.

Seeing my attention diverted, the café members slowly and quietly begin their conversations anew. My chipper complain starts introductions, "So Jonny, this is Charles. Chuck, this is Jonathan Crane. Don't call him Jonny, that's mine!"

_Hers? Maybe..._

The cashiers face pales further to a pasty white, his fingers lightly quiver, and he shifts his weight onto the foot closest to the door.

_He's afraid of me. Why? Not that he should not be, of course._

"P-p-Professor?" the boy (Charles? Ah Erikson. I remember your screams they were rather girly as I remember.) squeaks out my old title.

"Ah, Mr. Erikson. No I'm afraid it is now, Doctor."

While it is entertaining to watch him squirm it would be no good at all to have to clean projectile vomit off my shoes. That has already occurred this week. If it happens again I might be... peeved.

Erikson's relief that I won't be teaching again shows in the regainment of the blood pigmentation in his pasty face. A small puff of air escapes him.

**_Was it really that scarring?_**

"Your order, sir?" Erikson squeaks.

""Regular, black." His eyes flash humorously with the hidden joke. The amused brown eyes turn to a nervous Ibis. She bounces on the balls of her feet, eyes flickering quickly between Erikson and me.

"The usual Chuck" she says.

_Familiarity, this would usually mean a relationship of some sorts, but they don't seem to be awkward in any way. There is also the 68.6% chance that Ibis is here with me on a date and not presently dating Erikson, but there **is** the 31.4% to think about._

I grab the slick ticket from the boy's sweaty finger, before turning abruptly, leading Ibis (partially dragging) by her elbow to a window seat. Ibis stares gapping at me, her glittering blue eyes wide. Suddenly she snaps her jaw shut with a click.

_She realized she was impersonating a fish, it would seem. _

I smirk widely when her skin flushes red with embarrassment. She blurts quickly, "So, what was _that_?!"

I chuckle inwardly at her smooth conversation skills.

**Fear of Silence?**

I look out the window searching for the social skills I know I lack. I end my thoughts by speaking, "I taught psychology for two years. Mr. Erikson was one of my students." I pause, considering if I want to tell her, and continue, "The school board didn't like my teaching methods. They... it didn't work out for me there." Ibis looks confused for some reason as she thinks. I can't think of why she would be until she starts muttering bits of phrases, "Great teacher, phobias, and bit extreme?"

_Hmm, 10 minutes into our (date?) excursion, and she already has me figured out._

She looks up from the grains of the table to lock her confused eyes with mine. "How in the world were you teaching?"

I feel a flush on my cheeks as I remember how I decided to teach the way in which I did.

"I 'um' tried to teach them how '_you'_ liked to learn. More of a 'hands on' approach than the other Professors taught."

_I said 'um'! Maybe she did not notice?_ – Her lips are twitching into a small amused smirk_. She noticed._

She surprises me by continuing on with her questioning, "So what in psychology was your point of interest?"

_Ah, a subject I know!_

"Fear and its effects on the human mind."

Giddily, it seems, she responds, "So you found your life's calling in second grade? Cool!"

I flush red again at the implication that my work is that of an eight year old child. "I would like to think that I have refined it since then!"

A squeaky voice shouts behind me, "72 your orders up!"

Both Ibis and I look at the stranded ticket stub. 72 is stamped on the crinkled paper. I reach for my wallet as I stand, ready to offer to pay. Before my hand is even half-way Ibis blurts, "We'll split it, k?"

I look over at her, (which is my undoing) her bright blue eyes wide and glittering. Her lower lip pouting and quivering quickly.

My hand falls to my side. "Fine," I grumble, "only you can pull off the stunts of a seven year old at twenty four and still get away with it."

Her eyes get wider as she imitates her child, "Wreawy? You mean it?" A faux serious expression is accompanied by the words, "I'm sure you could pull it off."

At the counter both Ibis and I reach for our respective wallets as one. The only slightly terrified Erikson flapped his hands at the both of us. He glares lightly at Ibis in a teasing manner, "Ibis I told you, your first date here would be free. No paying!" He proceeded then to wag his finger at her as if she were some disobedient dog. I frown at the display of familiarity. Erikson swallows nervously.

"Sir your order?" he squeaks.

I grab both of the crisp paper bags in one hand while looping my arm around Ibis's waist. She stiffens slightly at the contact as I storm back to the small table. I know I am being childish but at this point I do not care.

_Ibis is mine!_

Ibis and I sit fidget with the loose paper on the steamy cups. I roll the cylinder of scalding liquid between my long fingers. Just as I begin to contemplate how to break the awkward silence, she blurts, "So is this a date?" I feel my face begin to heat up again,

_I have not blushed this much since my first health class!_

She continues the rapid fire question, "Or it more a re-meeting of friends type thing?"

A nervous tick I thought I had removed reemerges, I lick my lips before saying, "I do not know."

She tips her head into an acute angle in (on any other person I would assume it to be false) confusion. I continue with the most awkward sentence I have had the infortune to have said, "I 'um' have never have had a real reason to date, soooo I 'erm' didn't."

Ibis nods slowly as if she understands my plight. Quietly she responds, "I'd like it to be a date. I haven't 'really' ever been on a date either."

"So you and Erikson aren't?" I move my hand trying to convey what I do not want to say. She looks a bit amused at this.

"NO, no, Chucks like an older brother. I come here often enough that the everyday people are nearly family."

We meld into a more mundane conversation, and yet I find myself actively participating in it. We don't ask about family. I know she knows my Grandmother was not... the best, but she does not ask for specifics. I am curious about her child, Nauru, but I will not ask. Every instance her child is even briefly mentioned she tenses up until conversation is moved to other things. I learn a few (possibly) meaningless things about her, such as her favorite color, blue, and how much she hates the color green and the sound of canned laughter. (An unfortunate ringtone caused her to nearly hyperventilate.) In return I offered some information as well, my favorite color, blue, and some of the more minor experiments.

"So you're trying to cure fear?" she asks me curiously after I explain the basics of my earlier projects, "Won't that cause, like, stupidity? I dunno, base jumping, death and criminal activities to increase?"

"It is the absence of fear not logic!" I reply almost haughtily.

"Sorry!" Ibis puts her hands up in the global sign of surrender, "Have you had human trials yet?"

**Is she volunteering? **

I give her a look of confusion.

_She wants to be a guinea pig for a possibly untested formula? Why?!_

"Sorry, what?" I ask.

Ibis slowly lifts her head to stare at me with large almost teary eyes. She sighs, "I have gone through seven 'doctors' every single one was either completely bored with me and... or they just wrote me off as delusional. None of them tried to actually help us-**me**. They all wanted bigger patients; no one wants the single struggling mother... I am so **tired** of being afraid! I just... I don't want to be afraid."

The "anymore" is implied in the way she looked around and how she dropped her head again.

It shocks me when I realize that this woman-

_Ibis!_ I reprimand myself

I do not want to fear, none other than me at least. Slowly I reach over to her fiddling hands and lightly grab one in my cold ones. She tenses and relaxes so quickly I almost do not catch it, but fortunately I am a psychologist, I am **trained** to find those signals. I lightly squeeze her hand as one does while holding something small, like a butterfly, because that is what the hands remind me of. They flutter around her as she talks, accenting her words, constantly moving.

She looks up at me instantly, startled eyes flicker across my face looking for... something. Whatever it is, she does not seem to find it with me and seems to relax a bit.

I open my mouth, hoping I will not break this... friendship? "I could... help? I have not cured fear as you put it, but I can recreate it." She looks surprised, but not fearful of me as the patients are, "I use a small dose to force the person to confront their fears. Normally confronting their fears helps." **Liar**, "Or at least clues me in so after it wears off we can discuss it to help them move on from it."

I hope. Of course it could scar her for life and make her hate me forever. -Why did I tell her I could do this again?

"Really Jonny?" It's not the words that catch me off guard, it's the tone. I was preparing myself for a disgusted or maybe even a dismissive voice but hers was genuinely interested and a little thankful.

_Thankful... I have never had a single person thank me in my life. It is an odd experience to be sure, and she never even said the words._

I look back to her, as my eyes had drifted away. She looks at me earnestly and speaks clearly, "Jonny, even if doesn't work, you tried. That's more than I can say for every other person in this bloody city. – Except Alice and my... other friend." At the words 'bloody city' her eyes flash white for a small second.

_Hmm something to ask about later_

**Also the 'other friend' she's been mentioned twice now.**

"You want me to help?" I ask her, a little unbelieving. When I had told my colleges what I was planning to do (I had already started, to their misfortune) they tried to shut me down, when that failed they fired me. So, it was a bit startling to have anyone want to, well, even want to be near me really.

"Of course Jonny. I trust you, not sure if I should, but I do." She sounds confused at her statement and I notice her eyes are the foggy white again.

_Mutation- possible, MPD also possible, the slight voice change would agree with this, but alas more data is needed._

My phone rings a cheerful tune that I quickly end by flipping the phone open.

Dr. Arkham

_"Jonny my boy, I'm really quite sorry for your date, she hasn't left yet has she?"_ **No**_, "No, you're still with her?"_ **Yes**, "_We really need you to come in, you know JO273?"_ **Yes**, _"Well, can you get in in 15 minutes?"_ **Yes, fine_,_**_ "Good really?"_ **Yes**.

I shut the phone, with an annoyed flip of my wrist. "Can I walk you home?" I ask while wading up the thin napkin.

Ibis nods and we stand leaving the cooled remains of our coffee on the table.

"Bye Chuck!" she calls to Erikson, he waves back and ducks behind his counter. I open the door, Ibis ducks under my outstretched arm and out the door. Smirking in amusement I follow after her exiting the aura of soft rock music.

I flinch when ibis slips her hand into mine as we walk. She looks over at me making sure this was okay.

It was strange, but fine. I nod and she seems appeased with this. We stop in front of her building and I ask before she leaves me, "Are you free next week? We could start then."

She smiles, nods and saunters back through the cracked doorway.

* * *

Grex

I **know** it wrong to knock Ibis out of the last 10 minutes of her date, but it was partly her fault! I was already pushing against the barrier to listen when it cracked. I've told her "Anger makes it easier to get through". So when she's all "burn the world!" of **course** I come through. But... I didn't have to stay.

So Ibis is on the other side (sulking of course) watching and listening to me interact with her Jonny. Surprisingly she has said nothing, so I must have been doing a good-ish job acting Ibisy, or she's been ignoring the situation entirely. (That's always an option.)

Watching Jonny drive away towards Arkham (I assume), I let myself drift back through the barrier. Ibis rushes forward catching our tipping body on the doorframe. She sniffs for people who could listen to our blather**. She always did like talking aloud, teachers thought she was crazy. Funny!**

Familiar scents fill our nasal cavity.

_Laundry, sweat, vodka, sex, smoke, and a strong perfume_

**So Gregory had some fun last night**. I don't voice this though, Ibis is about to try the box thing. That was Baaaaaaad!

_Why did you do that!?_

**You were about to lose control. When we lose control we smile. Smile = bad.** I deadpan.

Partner of my mind knows I don't have high emotions unless I want to. Like the anger during a fight, it helps to have the adrenaline. Fear is the only thing to slip me up. Not Ibis's fears. She fears men in general, I only hate/loathe/fear the one.

So when I take control any sign of weak emotion disappears, heck I could face a lie detector and not have a blip.

Ibis deflates against the wall. A flurry of memories passes around the bubble; too quickly to make out any particular image.

_You! Fine- yes, I was going to lose it, but give a girl **some** warning will ya!?_

Old Books (Alice) trudges up the stairs carrying an exhausted Littler Crow on her back in the harness. The moment they see us their faces and slouched spines lift. Nauru bounces on Old Books back causing a bounce in her step that had not been there before.

"Owl, Owl, Owl, guess wha'!" the giggling toddler asks us.

"What?!" Ibis asks for us. The littler crow squeaks excitedly

"Zebas are petty!"

Zeba?

Ibis pulls up an image of a striped horse.

Oh! Zebras, I got it.

Whatever.

Hmph

"Yes, Zebras are pretty aren't they."

The toddler nods fervently. I brace ourself for the question every kid asks their parent, "Can I get one?" Instead she just yawns and asks, "Can I watch Sooby Doo?"

I push a small breath of relief through Ibis.

"Sure thing Little Crow. I'll go put it in, in a minute."

Ibis pulls up on the Littler Crow, lifting her from the portable prison. We perch her on our hip and open the door to our living space.

**Coffee, Old Books... the milk's going bad, and lemon furnisher polish.**

_Home._

Home, was this home? I suppose it's Ibis's, but as I'm always with Ibis my home is with her and Littler Crow. So maybe this can be my home as well. With those annoyingly sappy thoughts gone and done with, I fade. Morosely watching a memory of some poorly made horror movie.

* * *

Ibis

I plop down on the couch. Nauru rolls off my prone body landing lightly on the floor. She crawls toward our sparse movie collection and wiggles out "The Creeper." She holds it out with two chubby hands, I lean forward and grad it from her. Rolling off the couch I pounce HA or the DVD player hitting the open button. 'Welcome' it reads in blue glowing letters. The tray slowly scoots its way back inside. Looking back at the couch I see that my lodging territory has been taken by an Alice. Nauru sits next it her leaning on the faded fluffy arm. This leaves room for me to sit. I crawl back over to the empty spot next to Alice. The old couch creaks as I snuggle into her warmth.

As soon as I hit the play button, Nauru is entranced by the colorful cartoon. Alice looks over at me, her blue eyes sparking with interest. She asks me, feigning disinterest, "How was coffee?"

"I'm meeting him next week!"

Her eyes widen in slight shock, "That good, huh?!"

I hum in agreement. Even with the last 10 minute change in personality he continued to be... nice.

**Did he really notice it?!**

_Pretty sure. He'll probably ask us next week._

**I'll come up with a 'not crazy' explanation.**

"Yeah, it was. And he offered 'off the book' therapy."

Alice looks confused at my lack of animosity towards this issue. After out Harleen Quinzel remembrance both Alice and I had a general dislike of Doctors.

"Is that- good?"

"Yeah, I like him."

She rolls her eyes, 'Of course you do. If you didn't you wouldn't be going again next week' the gesture says.

"I want to meet him." She states.

"Next week."

Alice nods and the topic is left for cheesy puns.


	10. God of Four Wings

This is a combined chapter for those who read my last one. I found Nother Birdy to short so I am squishing it with this one. Sorry for the readers who were hoping for an extra long chapter update.

Thank you so much for your reviews. I find them very helpful even they are just a simple niceties

* * *

Wednesday

I walk up the cold white aisles of 'Gotham Produce'; Nauru's babble about her newest book distracted me from the mental list of stuff I need to get for Alice.

_What was I here for?_

**I dunno, ask the genius child. She read the list.**

Nauru pauses in her ramblings so I ask, "Little Crow, do you remember the list?"

She nods frantically from my hip, "Toold you Owl I 'member everwyting!"

I nod in agreement. She's almost memorized all of addition and multiplication up to 20 in just the two days I've been able to teach her. She is BRILLIAANT!

"What was on it?" I beg her. Alice will (figuratively) kill me if I go home without some vital piece to whatever it is that she's making.

Nauru's eyes move back and forth as if reading a paper. "Eggs, milk, green onion, chicken, cheese. Owl c'n we get Fruity Loopies?"

I almost didn't catch that last bit; it was whispered so quietly.

Confused I ask, "But I thought you didn't like sugar?!" and that's true, she likes her candy, but if sugar is on anything like bread then she will refuse to eat it. Alice thinks it's cute.

The girl in my arms smirks happily, "No, but 'rex does."

Grex does indeed and she purrs out a thank you, "Ah Little Crow, you know me to well." We snag a box of the sugary cereal.

Eggs, milk, chicken and cheese will all be in the same dreaded spot. The Ice-Box. The chill doesn't sneak up on you slowly. There is no sneaky ice ninja, what it is is a boxer. Imagine a six foot macho man charging at you and decking you across the face. That's what a walk to the ice-box feels like with enlarged veins and smaller blood cells.

**Fuckin Joker.**

Little goose bumps pop up on my arms. The little heater on my hip is of course just as warm as when we walked into the building.

_Stupid DNA_

The thin orange plastic of the basket digs into my leg when I put the gallon in around the eggs and the cheese. A soft but persistent pull on my sleeve causes me to look down at Nauru. She smiles up at me and points to the meat section. "Chicken."

A tall man peers at the meats. His head is turned so that I can only see the dark hair that covers the bit of face I could have seen had he been bald. His scent drifts closer as I walk closer to the man, the sharp smell of chemical overwhelms the sickly scent of processed meats. Through the chemicals is a mix of fear and maleness.

**Maleness? Really?**

_**Wait, Jonny?!**_ We blurt.

The head turned with cold eyes glaring. "Do not ca" he began, "Ibis!"

"Nice save."

"Ewo Cwane!"

Jonny's head drop to look at Nauru.

"Hello." He stretches his hand out and down to her. She shifts and reaches out to shake it.

"'M Nauru."

"Hello Nauru, I am Doctor Crane."

Nauru nods frantically. "'up we met befowe. You're datin Owl!"

I'm not sure between the two people standing whose face went red faster.

**Jonny's, definitely Jonny's.**

"Y-yes I am." He sputters, "I am also going to help her with her problems."

_Well, that was blunt._

**He really doesn't have any people skills.**

**It's amusing.**

Nauru makes a suspicious grunting noise coupled with an award winner of a glare. "What pwobwems 'n how are you gonna fix 'em?" she asks definitely

He just looks amused while saying, "Her nightmares and hugs. I will fix her with hugs."

Nauru apparently thought this was acceptable and smiled up at him. "He's comin to dinner, K."

"What!" we startledly ask, looking at her.

She looks pouty and slightly confused, "I thought you said Lunchables were devil food and never to be eaten?"

I glance at Jonny and indeed he is clutching a square plastic packet in his hand. He shifts his feet and just looks really awkward.

"Soooo Jonny do you have any plans?" I twist my body into a question mark.

A disgruntled, "No." and he puts the slimy processed meat back on the shelf. I snatch the chicken from the snowmen makers clutches.

**It's freezing!**

_I can't help it!_

**Stop nagging me!**

_I'm not nagging you! I'm simply saying it's not my fault!_

**I know it's not your fault I just said it was cold! Oh and Jonny wants to know what's for dinner.**

I blink out of the daze of my mind just as Nauru excitedly yells, "Quece!"

Jonny is walking calmly on my right side talking to Nauru apparently about dinner. His face was showing that he was indeed interested that she had started the third book in the Horse and Boy. Nauru bounces with every step I take, enthusiastically babbling to the tall man. He smiles, kinda. It was more a slight lifting of the edges of his mouth but still, sorta cute.

**Cute?**

A soft clicking of heels rounds the corner two aisles in front of our small group. Jonny's relaxed posture tightens and an annoyed sigh hisses out of the now very professional Dr. Crane as a short brunette walks closer. The woman (still in her business regalia) stops and stares with brown doe eyes at the rigid man beside me. "Well Dr. Crane, I was not expecting to see you in such a mundane place as the common grocery."

**I already don't like her.**

The unemotional Crane sigh, "If that was a slight against my evaluating skills, Miss Dawes, I will gladly recap what I said in court earlier. 'In my professional opinion Mr. Schiff's anxiety and schizophrenia would, and does, endanger both himself and others around him. Jail would hamper any progress I have made with him. Putting him with the common criminal has no use except to put him away with no hope of rehabilitate him back into the graces of society.' End quote."

_That... was impressive._

Dawes looked unimpressed at his speech. I feel really out of the loop so I ask, trying to stop the fist fight, or just verbal bash, I can see starting, "So what's the problem?"

Both pairs of annoyed eyes turn to me. Cranes are still frostily disinterested in the conversation but Dawes makes an attempt to soften her gaze. Her well-manicured but neutrally painted hand is extended to me. I take it lightly not wanting to crush the nuisances' hand. "Rachel Dawes," she proclaims, "ADA"

"Ibis Crow, girlfriend." I tip my head to the man beside me. Dawes stares in shock. Her brown eyes flicker between me, Crane, and then drop to Nauru. Her round face turns a delicate shade of green. She mumbles, "Excuse me." before brushing past us and sprinting off to the lady's room, her curly brunette hair flying out behind her. The clicking of her heels fades out of hearing before Crane relaxes back into Jonny. He sighs and gestures for me to continue walking beside him out of the ice-box. "Dawes has never liked me. She's under the impression that I work for the mobs."

"So she thinks you're falsifying insanity charges? ... Are you?"

Because of my off job it wouldn't matter for **me** if he was, because **I** only take out rapists mostly, but **Alice** would probably decapitate him.

**That'd be fun to watch.**

"No," is his curt reply, "They have tried, but I do not wish to be tied to that cesspit."

I smile serenely at him saying, "Good, maybe Alice won't kill you now!"

Nauru giggles.

Is she laughing because she thinks Alice wouldn't do it or because she knows she would?"

I- don't know.

The orange basket lightly hits the conveyer belt when I swing it up careful not to crush the eggs.. A pimply cashier begins to sort through it.

Crane continues, "She is also under the impression that I am unable to procure a sustainable relationship that will last long enough to appropriate a child, so the sight of me with one must have seemed abhorrent to her."

The high-schooler behind the machine appears puzzled at the large words, but still manages to ask me for the correct amount of money.

"Did you think that if you spoke science-y enough terms that that sentence wouldn't be awkward?" I amusedly inquire.

He lifts his hand and squeezes his index and thumb together. I chuckle as I snag the bagged items from the pimply kid and walk out of the market.

Even though I can smell the tramway on him I still have to ask if he drove.

**It would be kinda weird, for him.**

"No I took the tram."

"Well best get in then!"

His head turned to glare at the car we stopped in front of. His nose crinkled slightly in disgust.

**Ha, He doesn't like it either!**

Jonny peered over at me with an over the glasses 'really this is your car' look. The Ultimate Librarian glare.

**Don't tell **_**him**_ **that.**

"Hey," I begin to admonish him, "If you have a nice car in this part of the city, in five minutes you won't **have** a car."

He nods understanding my plight, then smiles deceivingly nice as he slowly opened the rusty door **rust bug**, prolonging the scream of the hinge. Nauru glares at Jonny, he manages to feign sheepishness before ducking into the car. I open up the driver's door to slide the seat forward. I lift Nauru and place her in her small compact black chair in the back. Going for the clasps to strap her in Nauru bats my hands aside saying matter-a-factly, "Owl I'll do it!"

She then struggles for good 3 minutes trying to push the buckles together so I help when she looks at me sadly. Her green eyes a misty and vibrant color. I grab her small hands in a loose grip and help her snap the buckles together. "Good job Little Crow!"

She smiles her wide gap tooth smile up at me. The green pacified and a happy forest hue. "You are a good mother." A deep voice intones from beside me. I turn to look at my passenger, a wistful almost smile on his face.

"Thanks?"

I leave the back of my bug to slide into the front. I grin madly at him, he gulps adam's apple bobbing.

Chuckling I start the car, "Well we're off to see Alice!"

Jonny looks a mite worried when Nauru begins to laugh. My grin is wide **still no Cheshire** as I drive off.

5:30

Crane

Ibis for lack of a better word is a very good bad driver. Meaning she is very good at driving bad and not dying while whipping around cars and dodging pedestrians.

I glance back at her child; it's swaying gently as Ibis swerves around the many cars. A soft giggle can be heard bursting out from it at a particularly violent turn.

_Crazy thing_

The small car screeches to a stop and my knees hit the dashboard with a clack. I look over to the crazed driver; a wide very unapologetic grin splits her face.

"Oops." is her only response.

She scoots out of the death trap and pops her child out. She sets the girl onto the sidewalk with wobbly legs. The child Nauru runs off pulling Ibis behind her. I step out onto the cracked sidewalk. Nauru, still dragging her mother, reaches for my hand. I extend it and am pulled (surprisingly hard for someone her size) from my spot on the pavement. I flail my arm backwards, hitting the door shut with a thump of flesh on metal. The three of us are rushed to the stairs where she, Nauru, ensures that I carry her up all 27 of them. I drop the child to the ground into front of the door Ibis paused in front of. Nauru grabs onto my hand directly afterward. Ibis gently jiggles her hand free from the two year olds grasp to insert the set of key into the green door. I am left standing with a child who keeps looking at my eyes.

_It's unnerving to say the least._

"You have the same eyes as owl." A feeling of shock seems to hit me in the abdomen, this must have shown on my face because the girls round face quickly became worried. She quickly reassures me, "That's a good thing. They're reawy pwetty!"

React! Thank her! Nod, smile, do SOMETHING!

I stand awkwardly, doing nothing, infront of the green door with a small, probably sugar high, child clinging to my hand.

_Oh if Dawes saw me now._

Ibis gets the door open with a loud creak. Nauru hastily drops my hand and run(ish) inside the apartment screaming, "Ali, Docow 'Anthans here!"

Ibis pop up near my elbow. "Well that was unexpected" she remarks.

"What was?"

"Nauru likes you." Ibis sounds both amused and perplexed.

"Why is this odd?"

A small smile quirks the edges of her lips. Before an, "Owl!" calls for attention, distracting her from (knowing her) what would be an entertaining story.

"Come on Jonny."

I walk behind her into the apartment. It's... small. I expected that in the Narrows, but the shades of chipping paint seems to bring the walls even closer together.

_I am not even claustrophobic._

We walk into the kitchen were a short blond is rushing around grabbing for pans and pie crust. We were standing on the peeling linoleum for about two minutes while she tries to find the correct size pan for the crust. I begin to think the absent blond has not noticed our presence and am about to ask Ibis about it when she snaps to attention. "Sorry I was zoning out. Hello Dr. Crane, I'm Captain Alice Finch, since we're exchanging titles."

The Captain extends her arm up to me to shake in greeting. "Captain? So quickly?" I ask.

She only hmmed at me before turning back to her collection of pie tins. I look to Ibis in askance to my apparent wrong doing.

"She's always like that, head in the clouds." Ibis nods to the erratic woman, "She doesn't want to talk about that."

"What happened that caused her to be like this?" I really would like to know so that I do not offend either or her… odd flatmate.

**Heretic**

"I just want to know so that I do not accidentally cause it… again."

Ibis leads me into a small lead colored room; a small over stuffed floral pink couch dominates the room. I sits in front of a large television. Large in this case meaning the depth of it was wider than my shoulders, not that it was a wide screen. She motions for me to seat myself on the pink monstrosity, her thigh flush against mine. Ibis looks uncomfortable with the tight arrangement until I move my leg so that our hip are only lightly brushing. Some how this is worse.

"Alice," she begins speaking in a low voice, "I met in high school. We protected each other, neither of us we very popular, and then she went away to the army. She had always planned on going, wanted to help. Alice ran through the ranks in a matter of a few years; she was that good. She was obedient but assertive. People liked her, the right people mind you, so she rose quickly.

Her commanding officer was sick on the day of their patrol so she was put in the temporary position of Lieutenant."

A low gravely voice speaks from the doorway behind us, "A radio explosive went off in the middle of our group. Almost everyone died."

The Captain walked back into the kitchen. Ibis continues in a softer voice, "Alice got hit with the backlash, head trauma, broken ribs and scarring from the shrapnel all on the left side of her body. So if you want to stay on her good side don't touch it."

We sit in silence for perhaps five minutes though it seems like hours. Ibis's dour face lifts into the quirky smile from the hall. "Alice?!" A pan crashes in the kitchen, "When you get done I wanna finish my story 'bout Nygma!"

A loud series of clanging pans is followed by a slam of a metal door (oven?). Ibis holds up three fingers, two, one.

"Tell me!" A squeakily excited voice comes from the couch side by Ibis. Alice sits in a gargoyle pose elbows square on her knees awaiting like a child a good story.

Flashback-ish

Ibis

I take the train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Most people don't even leave their houses, but hey I have to work a night owl job to survive. And no matter what people say about the train it's still better than walking. I only walk when I need to beat the crap out of something.

5 Weeks Ago

A yawn rips through me, cracking my jaw uncomfortably.

Stupid Hamlet

No no no, stupid college students who can't act, but still try and then show up to torture people with their talents at auditions.

Yeah, them.

I rub my temples trying to ease my headache I moan, "Ugh, imbeciles!"

The tall man in front of me twitches in my direction. "Why?" he mouths

I look at the side of his head. Angular cheekbones, thin lips, dark well groomed brown hair flipped to the twice broken nose but not overly crooked, nice suit but older. So born into a high class family but doesn't want to spend money on new clothing.

Very practical.

"What are you asking?" The man jumps; startled he turns to fully face me. Blue green eyes wide with shock. "Are you asking 'Why are they imbeciles?' or most importantly 'Why is she complaining about them?'"

He blurts out the first thing that comes to mind and then cringes, "The sides of a coin describe me."

Oh a riddler have we?

A coin has two sides. I asked two questions, so

"Either or or both."

He lets a look of shock cross his lean features before an arm swings in front of him or rather in front of me. He had twisted his body into a sort of pretzel shape. Really it looked like a complex marching slide, feet facing forward and his face and arm towards me. It was such an unexpected move I didn't flinch.

Hurrah!

"Edward Nygma!" He says excitedly the moment my hand clasped his. Nygmas' suit lapel lifts to reveal a shiny name tag. He tucked it back in after a few beats of fervent shaking.

Wait E. Nygma, we know that name.

"Ibis Crow, and I know your name."

A slightly panicked expression plants itself on Nygmas' face.

Must not be too popular. Poor guy.

Nygma! Alice was making fun of the detective's name who took over our case.

"Oh you're the guy they put on the Grex thing right?!"

He breathes out a small sigh a nods a few times. "It's my first 'big case', you know, by myself." He rambles.

"That's a good thing right? Shows they trust you." The sad smell of cookies and a tinge of mustardy anger drifts from him when he mumbles, "They only put up with me because no one else could find anything."

"Ah," I say sagely, Nygma looks up once more, "But you have found something yes?"

Nygma stares at me in a way that reminds me of the kid from 'The Christmas Story', glazed eyes and a wacked out smile to match. The train shudders to a creaky hault.

I raise a hand in farewell, "Bye, Nygma! See you… at some point probably."

He absently waves before seemingly snapping out of the daze, "Goodbye Crow!" he calls just before the rickety door closes in front of him.

A Monday

2 Weeks Later

After work

Well that was-

Bad

I was going to say bloody awful.

Yup yours works!

Nauru skips by my side gripping my hand. She hums a happy high pitched dity the sounds disturbingly like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in minor. Unfortunately this just brought me around to why I was walking through the Narrows at night.

I mean how many lines can one person mess up?!

And he was the best out of all the losers that tried ou-OW!

A sharp pull from the side tugs my arm into an alley.

Nauru!

I'm forced to release her to the slime threatening her to avoid dislocating my crows shoulder. I turn quickly into the alley to see a gangly hook nosed kid hunched over her with a very small knife held to her neck.

Looks like our shift is starting early.

What fun!

"Gi'me yo purse lady, an I won' hurt the kid!"

Inexperienced, first job.

No face carving for this one.

Damn

I growl lowly at the boy. He only shifts backwards a couple inches keeping the small blade on my crows fragile neck. I reach slowly for the wig; pulling it off he flinches as though expecting a weapon. I drop the wig onto a small box beside me. The kid gulps. "Do you know who I am?" I ask lowly, my tones deadly soft.

"G-Grex." he whimpered pathetically slowly backing away from the toddler in front of him.

"I am, and she is MINE! MIne is mine not yours!" The shout from Grex had the kid backing up frantically in the small alley. "S-s-sorry I didn' know. So sorry!"

Nauru turns her big green eyes up to look at me. "Owl c'n I try?"

Lately she's gotten in a mood to do everything herself. But with this guy-

He's skinny, she's got it.

"Sure, just don't kill him or break too many bones, k."

She nods and turns to a kid who smells like he's peed himself. She moves, viper-like, kicking his leg to loosen his knee and sweep kicking it to the ground. When he hit the ground she punched his nose. Then tapped his forehead gently. "Dead." She isn't scary because of the words (though no two year old should know that one) she's terrifying because of the calm reassurance behind them. Her words hold a small fraction of a child's giggle, melded with the soft sadness of a killer.

I pull her up from the boys prone body. "Come on Nauru."

I toss a ten on the kids chest. (I might let my child beat the crud out of you but let no one say that I did it without reward.) I pick up the wig as I step out of the dark alley way. It would be a lost cause trying to fix it back on at this point. Wigs are very annoying and sadly essential, at least with me. So I just flip my hood up to cover my scalp.

The groans of the crumpled kid drift around the corner as we walk away. The soft glow of the city lights pace us by; I let Grex lead us around. No one stops us from our wandering. My legs stop in front of the GCPD.

Why are we here?

Hmm, well you're bored stressed and you said you'd see that guy and it's been two weeks.

But this place is depressing! I whine

And Bollock is here. He was creeeeeepy!

But Gordon's here, we haven't seen him since before Nauru. And Bollock was drunk if that helps.

It doesn't.

Are you trying to socialize me?

Maybe.

Hmph, fine. Only becasue you'd probably take over and make me anyway.

Aah you know me so well!

"Little Crow," the big green irises look up at me in confusion, "We're going to see the man I met on the train earlier this month. If he's not, ya know, busy with whatever it is detectives do."

Her nose scrunches in confusion. "Month?" she mouths.

"A month is a section of a year." I explain as I push open the door to a busy room. "and...Oh shit."

People were scrambling around the room like ants. The only person not running around were the secretary and even she was picking up phones and writing numbers like mad. People were stumbling around crashing into each other and tripping on chair legs, but somehow the system worked. In a wild definitely Gothamesc way. I slowly entered the building already having to dodge around the officers. I move towards the secretary and wait for her to stop moving. She puts the phone down with a plop and sighs, "Yes?" Her voice is raspy in a 'I have a cold and still have to talk' way.

"Do you know where a Mr. Nygma is? If he's busy could you tell him Crow dropped by thanks." I attempt to smile at the bedraggled woman, I'm fairly certain it came off as a grimace as I look around the station. The sandy haired woman grimaces with me. "It's their dinner break, if you stay awhile everything will have settled down." The deep bags on her eyes seem to darken as she turns back to the ringing phone. "Nygma's down the hall and to the left. Unless he's with Gordon, then you'll just have to wait."

"Um thanks," Tag says Kathy, "Kathy."

I have to shove through the wall of people surrounding the desk to reach the outside. I glance down to see Nauru has her eyes scrunched shut in mild panic at the amount of people encompassing us.

"Owl I wanna leave." she whimpers into my shoulder.

"One second, I'm almost to a clear spot." I hug her closer as I slide past a rather fat man and into a well lit egg-shell colored hall. The sadly familiar smells of blood, stress and strangely excitement filled this hall. Nygma was down this hall, both the smell of the blonde at the desk and his scent of curiosity, humor, and the slight cookie sadness that was drifting out of an air vent to my left were embedded in the walls as if he was here all the time.

Scents don't stick like that, unless this is a home for him.

That's… rather sad actually.

I turn the left corner and see a room labeled Nygma: Forensics. "Almost there Little Crow."

I pause in front of the door, muffled voices sound behind it. An annoyed scent comes from what seems to be three persons, only one is recognizable to either of us.

Nygma.

I push open the door slowly, hoping I'm not interrupting anything important.

"Nygma I don't have time to guess your stupid ass riddles. Just give me the damn evidence!"

Grrr-eat it's Bollock!

If he's hurt my Nygma, there's gonna be a couple rounds of 'beat the man over his head with his leg.'

Yup! Wait, your Nygma?

You might have a fear of men, doesn't mean I have to.

Ok… but, yours?

Yes he is the first person outside the nerds and Alice that you have had an almost conversation with. I'm keeping him.

And with that Grex slides into the room and freezes and of course throws control back at me. Six eyes look at me in annoyance. "Um, hi I'm looking for a Mr. Ny," and spot him in the middle of the room clutching a small plastic bag to his chest, "Nygma! I found you!" The green eyes widen in shock.

"Miss Crow?!"

"Yup! Hi Gordon! Bollock."

A faint gleam of remembrance and pain shows through Gordon's blue eyes when he looks from me to Nauru. Bollock just sneers.

A wide happy smile spreads on Nygmas face, green eyes wide.

It actually looks a lot like my smile.

"Miss Crow, I'm teary-eyed but never cry.

Silver tongued but never lie.

Double winged but never fly.

Air-cooled, but never dry.

What am I?"

I would assume this is for the case?

Yeah, if the looks on their faces are anything to go by.

A soft tug on my sleeve followed by the softly whispered words, "Owl, shoo-l Friday."

We had tried to teach her basic chemistry that day. Really Grex just wanted to show her the baking soda trick and I wanted to show her what not to ingest. She was fascinated with the different poisonous plants but it wasn't till I showed her the insides of an old thermometer that she found something to completely interest her young 2 year old mind. She rolled the silvery liquid back and forth across her small palm. I told her not to eat it or she would be horribly sick, but that didn't deter Nauru. She only asked if Mercury came in puppy form.

"Mercury." I tell Nygma. A bright grin lights up his face. A sunshine on sidewalk smell covers the cookies.

"Brilliant!" He tells me. Bullock and Gordon stare at me; mouths hanging wide.

"What? It wasn't that impressive; she did most of the work." I bounce Nauru gently on my hip signifying who the 'she' is. Nauru squirms at the attention and whispers, "Owl, want down pwease." I slowly move her to the floor where she promptly hides behind my legs. The three mens eyes were still focused on her.

"Now fellas, it's not polite to stare at a woman's legs." Grex says, coking my hip to cover Nauru more. Two of the three raise their eyes while blushing a furious shade of red. Nygma stutters out apologizes and Gordon mutters that he 'has a girl thank you very much.' Bollock just looks back up with a small scowl.

Annoyed he asks, "So, mercury, that's how she died?"

Nygma jumps on it excited, "Yes. She would have breathed it in. You can see it-"

"In the throat." A whispered voice interjects his almost rant. His face drops in confusion before the eyes flicker behind my legs again. "And?" He encourages her to continue.

"Cause of the redness of her throat and eyes, an' her sinuses would have been inflamed."

Nygma points at her and bounces in place, "Yes That! That exactly! The chemical reaction would have clogged up her lungs." Nauru shifts slightly out from behind her place behind me with the praise. Gordon's' jaw drops in amazement. "How…?" Bollock scoffs. All heads turn to him making him shift awkwardly.

"Obviously he collaborated with them before they came in, so she would know the answers before hand. That's why he was stalling."

I drop my head theatrically and let out a puff of air.

Dick, talking to my Crow like that! Can we-

No! We can not disembowel him. He seems to be somewhat important here.

He's worse that the last Shrink we had!

Oh no, that man was still worse.

I bring my head up with anger burning in my eyes. "You are an idiot." I growl, "I haven't seen Nygma in nearly two weeks!"

Bollock abruptly turns a shade of puce and clenches his jaw. A vein pops purple in his neck. He grabs the small plastic bag from Nygmas' long fingers and brotequesly says to the shorter blond, "I'm going to dinner. I'll drop this off at the desk, when I leave." He storms past me into the hall, "Want to miss the crowd." he says loud enough for us to hear him.

Nygma stares at the open door before turning and saying, "Well that was awkward." Gordon rubs the short blond hair on the back of his head.

"Gooooooorrdon," he looks at me with a 'seriously' on his handsome features, "I'm Ibis Crow I met you like two years ago, and just recently got up the nerve to say thank you."

"Crow two years."

Do do do dooo do do doo

Gordon's' eyes widen when he realizes exactly who I am. "And this is Nauru. she's turning two in a couple of weeks."

Nygma flips around from sorting his desk in surprise, "She's two? Only two!?"

I frown and growl, "I hope I would know how old my own kid is!"

He puts up his hands pacifyingly,"Now Miss Crow, you know that's not what I meant. I only meant to say that she is…," he takes a moment to collect his scattered thoughts, "very well spoken for her age."

Grex chuckles and walks over to him. "Nice save, Nygma." She reaches my arm out and pats his shoulder. Nygma smiles and says, "Call me Edward or Ed if you prefer." Gordon's jaw drops in astonishment.

"But you don't have anyone else calling you Ed!" He exclaims.

Ny-Ed looks confused, "That's because I work with you all, I'm trying to maintain a professional atmosphere."

I push Nauru forward towards Gordon, surprisingly she reaches toward him and latches onto his leg. Gordon's face was confused at her actions until she mutters, "Alice talks 'bout you all the time."

And then a soft fond look in planted.

Ed looks confusedly between the three of us. "The Clown Killer? That case?"

I feel myself closing off as I turn to Edward. "Yeah, that's the one."

Grex interrupts the now somber mood; chuckling she says, "And seriously? The Case of The Clown Killer, that's what you're going with? Who named it?!"

Edward and I both look at an embarrassed Gordon who drops his head in shame. "It seemed a good idea at the time." he mutters.

The three of us snort. Even Nauru.

Humor, she's got it.

Gordon looks up at us flustered. "But seriously, Miss Crow I'm sorry, I -we," He amends, looking at Edward, "would love to talk, but we have a serial killer to find. Maybe another time?"

I nod and say, "Sure, I'll give both of you my number. Call me and we'll go eat or something. Maybe?"

Edward nods and Gordon agrees with a quick 'sure'. I scribble my number on a spare not-so-sticky-now-note and give it to the two guys. Nauru reluctantly lets go of Gordon's' leg when I hold out my hand for her to hold. "Say goodbye, Little Crow." She waves back at them and whispers a quick 'Bye-Bye' before she pulls me out of the room. The sterile hall is just as bad as before but now my own scent is partially there as well.

Marked it! It's ours now.

Ours? I mean I get you and me. But…

Nygmas', you and Nygma have this hall.

Do you have a crush on the guy trying to put us in Arkham?!

Shut Up! Grex growls.

Sweat and alcohol storm my sinuses the moment we turn the corner into the lobby-ish area. I spot Bollock among the crowd talking to a sharply dressed woman.

Librarian

Her eyes behind the thick cateye glasses were wide. Stringy blonde brown hair is pulled back harshly into a small bun. Short skin toned heels and a long beige pencil skirt under a faded pink sweater like thing, and vaw-la Librarian in it's habitat.

I begin to hear Bollock talking to her, "and Nygma got a girl to come in and treat us all like idiots. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't have him trying to sweet talk you anymore. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if the two are fucking like rabbits right now! The whore"

I freeze with shock and anger.

How dare-

Now?

Sure have at it.

We take one step forward ready to rip his intestines out and make him eat them before Nauru flies. She runs forward kicking his shin. The crack of rubber and bone silences the entire room. Unfortunately Nauru doesn't stop there. " 'ow dare oo talk 'bout Ow'ol ike tat oo bloody astard! My Ow'ol is the …. mine she's mine!" Every other word is punctuated with either a punch a kick and a surprisingly hard slap. That would have been fine because her two year old strength isn't enough to break anything. Just peel some skin, maybe. But with the last yell she bites into his pantsed leg. Bollock flips out and backhands her and she goes flying across the room, I leap forward catch her and go running out the door before anyone can react to the scene.

She whimpers into my chest. "Sorry, I'm so sorry Little Crow. Please be Ok!" I stop in a nearby alley and look at the small girl in my arms. Her green eyes are faded with pain they look at me blearily before shutting. "No! You can't go to sleep yet." She dutifully open her eyes.

No concussion.

Thank god!

Yeah, otherwise I might have to risk Arkham.

A wheezy sigh tickles my neck. I look down and see Naurus head on my shoulder. Her mouth is slight bloody but I sniff and it's hers not Bollocks.

At least we don't have to worry about diseases.

A small tear in her skin at the knee where it scraped the ground after the hit leaks a small amount of blood. I hear myself growl.

"Owl 'm fine. See?" I hear her soft voice muffled by my neck.

And indeed in a span of 30 seconds her knee slowly knits it's way back together.

"When?" I ask her.

"I dunno."

I sigh.

Always an easy one to answer.

She's probably always had it. I don't ever remembering to have to bandage her ever.

So healing that's nice.

Yup!

And we walk home.

What Ibis told Crane.

"Well I met this guy on the tram like two months ago and he's a detective. So on the way home one day we, Nauru and I, went down to the station and saw him again. And, " here I look at Alice, "You know Gordon?" She nods frantically, I see Jonny nodding out of the corner of my eye, "Well we saw him too. They were having a bit of trouble on a case, or rather The detective knew the answer and was trying to get Gordon and another Officer to guess what it was. Nauru answered and the other guy threw a hissy fit and left. As we were leaving Nauru heard him trash talking me and she just nailed him!" I begin to laugh and Jonny smirks in amusement, Alice falls over holding her sides, shaking in silent laughter. Nauru walks in sees us and we begin to laugh harder. Even Jonny chuckles. Nauru rolls her eyes and sits on the floor looking between all of us.

Jonnys tenor voice asks, "Was the Officer in question Bollock?"

"Yes. How-?"

Jonny smirks while he answers, "I know Edward, I met him in College and stayed in touch. He found the whole thing quite… how did he put it, "Invigoratingly amusing." Though he did not tell me it was you. It is nice to be able to put a person in a blank space."

I smile at him. "How did Bollock react after we ran?"

"I'm told he just looked at his hands and went out to eat."

Good, he felt remorse for hitting a child.

A soft ding sounds from the kitchen, Alice squeals excitedly, "Ooooooh the quiche is ready!" She pulls me up from my spot next to Jonny as Nauru does the same to him.

Hmm, food!

* * *

Reviews are lifesavers. Save a life a click the button below.

So I'm thinking of skipping another year to get to the plot of the movie. Yes or No?


	11. Friend and a Fiend

The update is after the part that was already there.:)

* * *

Jonathan Crane pov

After listening to Ibis's obviously heavily abbreviated story. The brat-Nauru pulled me up from the soft recesses of the coach. Pulling being a polite term, I sat up on my own, although her tug was impressive for a child her size. I run my thumb across the small slightly cracked knuckles that are clutching my fingers. I whisper, "Do you get in fights often?"

She smiles and whispers back, "Only if they insult Owl or G-" she cuts off right before any useful information could be forthcoming.

**Damn**.

Normally children are the easiest to interrogate, because once they feel they have a secret, they have to tell everyone. If we were alone I might bribe her with cookies, but I had a feeling her mother would not approve. Of course I could always try the new- no. Her mother would definetly attempt murder if I were to venture into that territory. Even if the data would be helpful to my research,- hmm best not to consider it.

The Captain was bouncing around the small table like one of test rabbits my students used to use when testing adrenaline and it's purposes. Ibis stood watching the mayhem amusedly. Nauru let go of my hand to run to her mother, narrowly avoiding Finch. Ibis lifts her up from her armpits and lightly plops her in a brightly colored plastic container, more commonly known as a high-chair. Finch flaps her arms motioning for us to sit. "So I put veggies an cheese an all the other good stuff in this, so Ibis you'd better eat all of this." Ibis sits almost instantaneously with her fork in hand. I smirk in amusement at the scene but immediately drop it when the stern motherly look is turned on me. "You are no better Crane, both of you are entirely to thin not to eat everything on this tray! Sit!" I sit.

During dinner Ibis and Finch talk about Ibis's job hunt. She seems to be wanting the position of Applied Sciences, but one Lucius Fox is in that position and not looking for an assistant at the present time. After a half hour of socializing Nauru falls face first into her mostly cleaned plate of quiche asleep. Both Ibis and Finch stop talking and look at the child. Ibis picks her up, pulling pieces of crust out of the girls strange hair. She leaves me with a now twitchy Finch. We stare at each other from our spots on the table. Finch's eyes waver flickering from mine to a spot on my forehead. She taps her fingers in a scattered fashion, not at all the regularly timely taps of anyone else, though, Finch was already in her own category. Maybe a split category with Ibis… What am I thinking? I do not know this women!

Finch is flinchy, possible fear of conversation? But as soon as I decide to test my hypothesis her eyes get a hard sheen. "If you break her, I will eviscerate you." Finch walks away stiffly picking up the dishes and tossing them in their sink.

So that's a 'no' to fear of social interaction then.

"Jonny?" a soft hand grips my elbow, "Please stop analyzing Alice. It makes her twitchy." Ibis stands next to me, an amused smile aimed at me. Her icy eyes flick to Finch, "Alice don't try to kill my…" Ibis has a slightly constipated look on her sharp features as she contemplates what I am to her.

"Boyfriend you are definitely dating now. You brought him, fed him, he's yours. Like a cat." Alice lifts her short head to look at the ceiling distractedly murmuring how I was apparently a cat.

"I would think I am more like a bird. They always seem to come to the same feeder year after year."

For a moment I think that my comment would be frowned upon as they usually are, except by the rare specimens like Edward, but he has so far proved to be one of a kind in terms of his sense of humor. But both Ibis and Finch find my statement to be humorous. They wear smiles that quirk the sides of their lips upward.

"Birds of a feather?" Ibis asks

"Flock together." Finch and I say together. "Jinx!" she squeaks, pointing at me.

I nod, acknowledging her somewhat childlike exclamation. Ibis smiles at me, she's glad I didn't call Finch out on that then. Perhaps this is a normal behavior pattern for the strange woman. I nod back to her. I glance at my watch and sigh. Time to go.

"Well ladies, I would love to stay and talk but I have an early shift tomorrow and to work on some assessments before I retire, so I will take my leave."

Small protest comes from Finch asking if she had offended me in some way and that I could come over anytime because, "You are too skinny." apparently.

I politely deny that she had anything to do with my leaving and that it would be my pleasure to come over whenever she would have me as, "Your cooking is splendid." Finch beams up at me then shakes my hand. Ibis opens their oddly colored door (especially considering her strange case of 'Chlorophobia') and walks with me silently down the stairs. She coughs (nervous) and begins to stutter though a question she must have been thinking on all through the hall, "C-Jonny? Um, when, do you think, that-when would- when are you free? Next, I mean? To do the thing? Or this we could do this again. Not the kidnapping you from the sto-."

I cut her off with a chuckle, "Ibis I am… free in 2 days or a week. Depending on which question it is that you are actually asking."

Ibis blushes and looks at the door, "Sorry, I remember how much you hated stuttering. The thing when… would you be able to help me?" she looks up from the spot on the foggy glass of the door. The blue of her eyes cuts into me. They are filled with pain that she has never shown either of the times I've seen her before. But the rest of her face is a mask of indifference that I only see when looking in a mirror. Her pale lips in a thin white line, the edges only slightly lifted in an failed attempt at being hospitable. Or more likely so that she doesn't cry. (For whatever reason females seem more prone to do this activity than males.)

"Of course Ibis, I will attempt. But you must be prepared to tell me everything."

Her already white shade of skin fades to a light blue, so much so that I begin to worry that I put her in a panic attack. The icy irises dilate in fear. Until she composes herself by shutting them tightly.

_So, this might well be more difficult than I first estimated._

However she does respond slowly, "It's fine. Yeah, we can do that." Ibis opens her eyes and they are an odd shade of blue, almost white in color. The shade of fogged glass, not the ice I am familiar with.

"So are you Grex?" I ask. She had not been so tense with mentioning Alice to me earlier, so the only plausible explanation is that she was under the impression that I would not approve.

For whatever reason she smiles, as if having multiple personalities is a perfectly normal thing to have.

"Naw, I'm a chemical imbalance. An undigested bit of beef." She cheekily replies

A small smirk and I return, "A fragment of underdone potato?"

The grin grows as she talks excitedly waving her hands in a wild pointing gesture to me, "See Ibis? This is why we have to keep him, though the straight face he has humor!"

The mono-face returns abruptly, "Jonny, will you hurt her? Cause if you do I. Will. Make. Sure. You. **Burn**."

"I will endeavor to never knowledgeably arrange any hurt upon your body or Ibis."

Grex frowns, "That was a very Lawyer-esque answer. But sure works for me!" She bounces in place; floorboards creaking gently beneath her. "When would be the easiest for you? No wait, you already said." She blinks and the blue slides back starting from around the pupil.

"Ibis?"

"Shit, Grex jumped the gun." Pale pianist fingers lightly squeeze the base of her nose. "Two days, that was when you were off."

I nod surprised that she remembered that; with the minor panic attack she just experienced, that she continues to think fluently.

_She must think that I will turn her in._

**For what crime?**

_Grex is the name the thugs in this area are calling the new vigilante, which actually really obvious after I think about it. Grex is sometimes seen with a small laughing shadow._

**She'd be a good bodyguard if the mob tries to destroy us.**

"I'll see you then?" I reach for her arm, and she lunges past me into another hug. "Why must you do this?"

She snickers, "It's a form of comfort," letting go she says, "Thanks."

Her eyes flicker white and she glares at me as she prods me out the door.

Well, that was… interesting.

Ibis

**Well he took that well.**

_The shit did you do that for?!_

**Do what?** is her questioning tone

_Just- You completely ousted us! He's gonna think I'm crazy and lock us up in Arkham and no one will care if we go missing except maybe Alice and Nauru and we won't ever see them because they don't let visitors in Arkham._

**Wow! Calm down. First off they do let family in Arkham and we wrote Alice into our will so we can see both of them. Second, he's not going to lock us up because we are friends and third, he didn't care.**

I collapse on the stairs, the splintery boards digging into my back.

_How do you know he doesn't care?_

**He didn't smell anxious. He actually kinda smelled pleased.**

_Pleased?_

**Yeah, like he was surprised or - something. I dunno, scents are weird!**

Sighing I march back up to our green door. Walking down the short hall I pause in front of Nauru's small room. I smell her scent of smog, grass and flowers. The smog was just a smell that hovered over everyone, and the grass wasn't that unusual as Alice had taken her to the park earlier, but the flowers were hers. Her mark on the world, soft and delicate.

_It'd better stay that way._

**She lives in Gotham nothing ever stays innocent, she's already leaving that behind.**

I know I whisper as I softly shut the door.

5:30 am

The Next Morning

"Shit! No, shut up, shut up, shut up!" I whisper shout at the phone in my hand.

Pulling the earpiece roughly off the holster on the wall I continue my tirade at the phone, "What, could possibly be so important that you need to call me at this time! I swear if this is a marketing scam I will go yell at your management!"

A long pause along with feedback from the other side, but I will **not** hang up, they **will** tell me their spiel or I'll start yelling cuss words.

"Um Hello, I'm now realizing that this was a bad time to call, but is this the home of Ibis Crow? This is Rachel from yesterday."

I fume, gripping the phone in tight fingers.

**Why does she think that she has any right to accuse Jonny of working with the mob, and then try to make nice with us?!**

_She's crazier than you are._

"Yes this her. Please get to the point." Grex growls.

_Well that was rude._

**That was the point my dear owl.**

"I-I just wanted to tell you that I've been watching him and some of his verdics don't add up. I hope that you don't fall into the same place." And then the phone clicks on her side.

**Bitch!**

_She calls us-_

**and just**

_hangs up?_

**On us!?**

"So whom was it?" asks Alice who had snuck up behind me and has her head under my raised arm.

**She's so… interesting.**

Putting the phone on the wall I squish Alices' head to my side. She squeaks.

"Why do you always do this?

"Mayhaps I simply enjoy your calming company?"

I snicker, _Calming, that's me alright._

"The phone, whom was it that called?"

"Oh that woman Jonny and I ran into yesterday. She felt the overwhelming need to tell me that I'm on her watch list now."

"Well that's silly! Why would you tell someone that you'll be staring, it's very anti-climatic that way."

"Yes it is isn't it."

* * *

Plot for stuff I'm not writing now. (I might later.)

Ibis goes to see Crane. Then does the 'scare treatment', Crane and Ibis learn why she hates green. (Joker used torture by association, or torturing her in a green space.) Crane gets bullied into working for the mob, because they use Ibis and Nauru against him. This makes Crane angry and the scarecrow persona starts taking place. Because Crane is against the mob he wants a to create a stronger fear formula to use against them. This leads him to Ra's al Ghul. Ras tells him that they just want to take the city hostage.

Meanwhile Ibis gets the Applied Science assistant job through association with Crane. (The mob wants to keep him moderately happy). So she's close friends with Mr. Fox. Ibis graduates college with a minor in engineering and a major in Forensic Psychology. She's really good friends with Nygma and tries to steer him away from Kringle. And she's dating the slightly psychotic head of Arkham, Crane.

* * *

2 Months After The Treatment

Narrator's pov

"So Crane, I've heard that you haven't accepted any of our requests. And since I'm such a nice guy I'll give ya one more chance before I get less… hospitable." a sleazy and overconfident voice comes from an old, balding, fat man sitting on a leather rolling chair, in an Italian restaurant.

Boredly the dark haired man across from him replies, "Of course I'll take our offer."

"Waaa?" is the intelligent response.

"Well I would assume you finally found something worth threatening me in person with. Or was I wrong?" A long pause and he continues, "Hmm no then, I am going to guess that that you have discovered my relation with Miss. Crow."

The mobster trying to recover grinds out a rough, "Yeah and we'll knock off her, and the kid if you don't start putting some of my people in Arkham."

"Oh that's not a problem what so ever, now if you would take the block off what is mine."

The fat man scoffs, "What have you got to threaten me with Crane? You've got nothing, NOTHING!" and he slams his large hand on the table in between the two. Crane doesn't even blink, "Well I could always try to convince Grex, is that right? To stop killing off your people on her turf, I could possibly get her to go after some of the other mobsters. I know her only condition is rapists of course, she does so enjoy snapping off… well you know of course. Or I could talk her into taking you out, she would find it fun at least."

The mobster starts thinking "So I get my turf back and two extra contingency plans?" At Cranes' blank face he continues, "Sure sounds good to me. Don't screw it up Crane."

The carefully blank face twitches in amusement, "Don't give me a reason."

After two trials

So like 2 years before Batman Begins

Ibiss' Pov

A soft but persistent pounding on our front door that can belong only to Crane, begins as soon as Alice finally gets Nauru to sit. A hollowed looking Crane stands stooped in front of the heavy door, dark bags sinking into his skeletal face, his normally perfectionistic hair a frazzled mess . I now for a fact that I look no better, what with Crane being hounded by the mob and me trying to put my degrees to use. (Or at the least get a job that will keep the apartment.)

"Come in Jonny." I pull his limp body into the dingy hall. He protests putting his hand on my shoulder, "Ibis I have to fix this. I have to go."

"Why?"

"The mob," I nod understanding, I ruined any chance he had of getting out, "Fear toxin, there is a flower in the Alps. I have to make it stronger before you get hurt. Go to Fox he'll have the job now."

He turns to leave and speaks, head turned behind him, while gripping the door in a white fingered grip, "If all goes well I should be back in a month or two, if not… find Dent." and then he rushes down the stairs, running into a taxi.

Alice pokes her head out of the kitchen, I'm not crying I swear. "Why did Crane leave?" is her quiet question.

"He said he had to… fix… something." I walk past her toward my small bedroom, "Sorry Alice I'm not hungry now, I think I'm going to sleep."

I lock the door behind me and cry as my life seems to crumble again. For once Grex has nothing to say.

The Next Morning

Wayne Enterprises never seems to get any smaller. People walk by like ants under a magnifying glass quickly darting around the building that holds all the power in Gotham and near everywhere else. Wayne Enterprises is like the mob in some ways. It's hard to leave and they will always be watching. But you don't have to die to leave. That's always a plus. But this is where the jobs are, so I have to go. Uncomfortably dressed in dark dress pants and a somewhat frilly white shirt. I have no reason to try again here, but Jonny seemed fairly sure that it was the mob blocking me and not my stupidity. And let's be honest here, it could be that to. But he was kinda crazed when he was talking to me yesterday.

My satchel digs a groove in my leg as I start walking up the stairs, the soft 'plaps' of my flat hitting the wet ground creates a beat to bass my breathing on. "In out." I pass an older person that gives me a sympathetic look.

I guess the eye-bags are showing through.

Or it looks like you're going to up-chuck.

If I don't get this job I'm going to have to start looking for other jobs, but those always run the chance of being mob run or in a really bad part of town. Which isn't hard for me, but I have to take Nauru with me.

"She's quiet, doesn't talk unless told she can. Please let me have this job."

The interior of the skyscraper is a typical entrance, at least in the way it appears to people. To me it was intimidating the ceiling at least 4 stories above me, and covered in mirrors to make it look even bigger than it was. White marble columns line the edges of the room. I imagine that the people working here find the big space a symbolance of being high above the normals of Gotham. I just find it moderately irritating. There is a small elevator of in the far right corner of the building that hardly anyone knows about. (We had to pull up a map on the secretarys' computer.) That will take me 5 basements down to the Applied Sciences Floor. I step off the elevator and am blinded by the white everywhere. There is only one scent down here.

Two, but he was down here a over a week ago.

I follow the freshest scent to the left around some storage units. A shorter black man sits at a computer typing in what looks like computer code.

Hope we're not doing that!

Shh, you're not helping my confidence levels. 

I purposefully scuff my heel against the floor so he won't go ninja on me.

It's the old people you have to watch.

He turns with a vaguely confused look in his eyes. "Hi, I'm Ibis Crow I called earlier for a the position of your assistant. If it's still open." I'm worried slightly when he makes no move to greet me or even acknowledge that I have said anything. Then he asks, "So which one of you is the mobster?"

I stutter, "Um, neither, I don't think. Although it could be him, doubt it though. He dislikes the mob almost more than I do."

"Good, well you got the job." He turns back to the computer.

"Wait, I… don't understand."

Don't ruin it!

"What don't you understand?" he doesn't turn away from the screen.

"Well I've been here at least three times before this, but I have never even gotten this far. Two out of those times I've only talked to the secretary who tells me something is wrong with my file. Last time they told me to come talk to you, I got on the elevator before they told me to go home."

Mr. Fox pushes off from the small desk spinning around in the chair to look at me, "Oh so you don't want the job." His face remained blank and unresponsive.

"No!" I throw my hands out infront of me, "I need this job, please!"

No begging!

Shut up! Sometimes begging gets you places.

"Then you have the job, I'm not seeing the problem here."

"What exactly am I going to be doing?" I breath.

"We take in military contracts and design what they want. So I'll be doing that and you'll be making sure my old feeble hands haven't slipped."

I think someone told him that to get him to hire us.

He gets up and walks around me to the front of the room, "I have everything where it is supposed to go. Today and the rest of this week I need you to memorize where everything is. And then we'll talk about what else you'll be doing."

Fox grabs my shoulder and turns me to the far left end, "Start there and leave at five."

I look at my watch, 11:30.

Well this will be fun.

4:59

Soooo glad we wore flats!

Now, do we sneak out or tell him we're leaving?

We could try the sneak out, but have you heard the echoing in this place I could hear the fly two rows down.

Hey, we can sneak up on mobsters we can get out of here!

I pick up the bag and slide into a standing position in the same motion. Tiptoeing to the end of the row, I peek around the corner to see if Fox is there.

Clear!

I dash on silent feet towards the elevator.

"Almost didn't hear you." says a deadpan yet moderately amused voice.

I nearly faceplant I stop so fast that my shoes squeak on the white floor. "Sorry, Mr. Fox I just wanted to see if I could. Seems that I can't." I smile apologetically.

Why are you so gushy?! It's gross!

Because this is the best paying job that even had the possibility of being open. unless you want to work in a Burger King?

Bleah.

"No it's fine. But yes you are right it's time for you to go."

Good Evening Mr. Fox."

And I leave through the opening doors. the ride up is silent except for my inner freak out.

Oh my God! We got the job! Jonny was right.

Jonny.

Oh come on don't you dare break down again!

But he could be-

Fine he's fine.

But what if he's n-

Let's go talk to Edward.

What?

You heard. I don't want to listen to you moan to ourself and Eddy's probably worried, if he even knows. So off to Edward.

Since when do you like helping people?

I don't, but I dislike you crying more.

Ah, you sweety.

Don't. You. Dare!

I skip out of the building, hopping down the stairs. I grin as I hail a cab, and almost happily pay the thin man. I stop in front of the GPD building, to call Edward. (No need to bust in on him again like last time.) He picks up almost immediately, "This is Nygma."

"Eddy I need to talk to you, it's kinda important. And if you're not busy we could maybe… eat something, somewhere." I trail off at the end.

"Hm, yes I think I could. Where are you, I'm 78% sure you're outside,but I could be wrong."

"Of course you're right Edward. I don't think I've known you to be wrong. So do you want me to come in and wait for you to finish up or stay outside."

"Stay there, no, wait. Come in! Do you have Nauru?" he sounds a bit panicked with the slight stutter.

"No Edward. Bye."

I flip the phone shut and walk up the stairs. The lights are on shining yellow lines down on them. i make a game of stepping only on lines.

Has anyone ever told you you're weird?

Why no! Thank you for the compliment.

Inside was slow. The few people there seemed to be bored out of there minds. Only the secretary seems to be doing anything, and that was only picking up phones and saying her line before putting down the phone with a snarl.

Prank callers.

A gangly man trots up to me asking, "Ibis, Ibis, what riddle do you have for me?"

"Where doth the black bird fly when he should be by my side?"

"Crane left then?"

I stare at the smart idiot in front of me, "He told you?! When?"

His grin slips to the side, "He didn't tell me exactly, I hacked his computer and he was looking for what to pack for traversing the Alps. Apparently there's a flower or some such thing that he needs for his research."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sen- but why was he so frantic?" I ask, hoping the genius will know.

Edward glances around before leaning close, formaldehyde overpowering my nose, "He might have mentioned that Falcone was bearing down on him, that he might start threatening him."

"Oh, so he is working for the mob now, great."

"Was that sarcasm? I have never quite understood that."

I tip my head to the side exaggeratedly, "What? Sarcasm? I would never!"

He smiles, "Now that I got."

"Food?" I hold out my arm.

"Of course Madame." We turn to leave and see Bollock scowling at us from his desk on the second story. I stick out my tongue and pull Edward out the door. "Something else you have to tell me?"

I bounce walking backwards in front of Edward. "Yup!" He only smiles broadly at my enthusiasm. "You know that job that I've been trying to apply for? I got it!" I stop and hug the grinning man, spinning him around while giggling like mad.

A small and relatively clean Mcdonald's looms in front of us. I pull Edward inside, knowing that he really does like the Milk-Shakes. We order, or rather I order and Ed doesn't cause he will eat whatever I put in front of his nose. As we sit down, me gnawing on a greasy cheeseburger, Edward asks, "What are you going to do with Nauru? Or has Mr. Fox allowed entry?"

I drop the flat bun on the wax paper with a soft thump. Groaning I shake my fist at the water stained ceiling tiles, "The one thing I didn't ask, shit! Do you think I could sneak her in?"

Ed should know right? At least the statistics of not getting fired.

I don't know if it matters. If Jonny is working for the mob and they have a handle in Wayne.

True, but I'd still like Fox to like me.

Stopping the odor of withheld irritation would be nice…

Fine, try and get on his good side.

"Never mind, that's a bad idea I'll do it later. Ed, where is the nearest daycare." Ed gives me a sideways look. "Fine! One with the least accusations of kidnapping"

He looks blankly into the air above him. "I don't know the exact place but I could check at work tomorrow."

I frown and tap my foot against the cool tile, drumming my fingers rapidly I ask, "So what am I supposed to do with her? Drop her off at the library? Actually she'd love it, it's the people there that get disturbed. I've had to pick her up at the Department four times because she was being smart with the other kids and the parents got creeped out and-."

"Ibis, I'll take her." he says offhandedly.

My head flips up to stare at my oddball friend. "What?" is my intelligent response.

"I can take her to work tomorrow. It should not be a problem for her to follow me around, people don't seem to show up dead on wednesday for whatever reason, so she wouldn't see anything to scarring."

Scaring, that's funny. She's probably seen more dead people than most people in this hell hole.

True, sad, but true.

What are you saying , that you want to leave Nauru with Alice? Cause we know what happened last time we left her.

Oh, the sugar high! That was awful.

I gape at Edward, "You'd do that?"

"Of course." he seems confused, "You are busy and need this job, and I can try to groom Nauru for forensics."

I can smell the amusement on him, so I'm gonna say that that was a joke.

Not funny.

For him? It's the funniest thing he's heard all day.

"It really won't be a problem?"

"No, I don't believe so. If I do need to go look at a scene then I shall put her-"

I cut him off flapping my hands in front of me, "No it's ok, I'm giving you permission, you can bring her with you. Just make sure she stays fifteen feet away from any corpses, or Bollock."

Ed scrunches his nose like he's bit into a lemon. Disgusted, he asks, "Why on earth would I leave a child with Bollock?"

Chuckling I shove another bite of burger in my mouth. Ed steals a handful of my fries and munches down on them as if he hasn't eaten for days. Although he probably hasn't, so I won't hold it against him.

The waitress looks at us out of the corner of her eye and sneers at the food being inhaled by us.

Good thing Naurus not here, otherwise things might get messy.

Why does she always have to make them cry? I mean really! It's always with the mascara and the sobbing. It get's old real quick.

She's only two, they need to get over themselves!

I stick my tongue out ot the offending girl, who now that I think about it might have been in my english class.

Don't care enough to remember.

The girl sticks her nose in the air and marches over to us in a very swagery way.

Is that a flirtatious walk or a "I am so drunk right now"?

She leans a bit too close to Ed for my liking when she asks him, "And is there anything I can help you with Sugar?"

I smile widely at the blond bimbo, "Ginevra, wow long time no see! Now, he nor I want anything that you have, except to see you gone. Toodles!"

Ed smiles at me, seemingly relieved that the female threat has been vanished.

You are spending too much time with geniuses.

Aw Grex, is your vocabulary lacking in profound words?

Shut up!

Never!

My thigh buzzes, breaking up the impromptu staring match. I hold up a finger signaling that I have to get this, and flip the phone open, "Ibis are you coming home? You are to show Nauru how to do the fractions tonight."

"Oh crap Alice, I completely forgot. I'll be home in a few."

I look at Ed in apology. And his wide down turned eyes greet me.

**No, not the puppy dog eyes!**

No we can not rip them out.

**Party pooper.**

_I thought you liked Ed?_

**I do, but I really like blood, and you haven't had any time to have fun with the guys in our section. Or tickled the other mobs either. I need some fun!**

Fine we'll go out tomorrow.

**Yippee ki eh**

I place my hand on the man's shoulder. "I apologize for bringing you out here. It wasn't too long, and I'd love to do this again. Someplace not McDonalds, yeah?" He nods; looking moderately more excited now that he knows I'm not just abandoning him, "But I got to go. Nauru really wants to learn some fractions tonight."

He stands and pulls me into a decidedly awkward hug. My face is too far crushed into his chest, because he didn't give me time to turn my head, but for him it works fairly well. He blushes as he lets go. Muttering he states, "I'll pick her up at 8." And then he leaves through the grease smudged door back into the crowd that is always waiting outside.

He is such a sweety.

But we should call him and say we can comeover. It'll be easier on everyone.

You just want another chance for Nauru to kick Bollock don't you.

Course I do Birdy. Ya have'ta admit, it'd be funny.

* * *

Please, I am looking for a someone to beta this story. Perhaps over e-mail? PM me if this is acceptable.


	12. Au Revoir

Um, yes, hello, Sorry for the wait. But I'm here now! Please read, I worked really hard on this to get this short chap.

* * *

Nauru

The Next morning

Owl told me she was bringing me to stay with her friend. But her friend is where the old fat man is and I don't like him. No one insults Owl, except Alice sometimes, but those are jokes. I think at least Owl says their jokes.

Owls friend seems nice, I think he's a nicer version of Mr. Bird. And he doesn't talk to me like I'm stupid. Even Alice sometimes forgets sometimes. Owl's excuse is that her brain isn't all there, and sometimes it isn't but most of the time it is. She just covers up pain with a farce of insanity.

I don't really remember what 'farce' is, I've only heard the Librarian use it once.

_False, fake, a disguise._

Oh, that makes sense.

The building that Owl says is a po-lice station is nearly as dark and creepy looking as Arkham is; or more. I jump up five of the tall steps before Grex frowns at me and picks me to land on her shoulders. Grex is weird, she is no nonsense but loves to be mischievous. I think she would have more of the painful mischief if Owl let her. She's rather violent, I know what Grex does to those people's faces even if she tells me not to pay attention or to go home. It's still fun to be with both of them. None of them are ever home.

The doors to the Creep open when Grex slams through after giving up on Owl pushing on the stuckness of it. Warm air is in the Creep. Lots of loud people, but not as many as the last time we were here. Kathy, the woman on the phones, nods at my Owl, but points up. Owl knows what this means and walks fastly up the stairs that lead to the floor above the busy people.

I see Owls' friend standing in a glass box. He looks disappointed and sad. Why does he sigh like Alice does when I talk to the people in her book Library.

Owl finishes the stairs and we both grimace when we see Bollock, but he is FatMan. At least until I meet someone bigger. Though with all the running Blondy makes him do, he might slim down.

Owl walks to stand outside the glass box, bouncing slightly on her toes. We watch her friend move out of the door with blinders hanging on it. When he sees us the small frown rises into an excited grin. "Ah Ibis, here already! Actually," he looks at his wrist, "You're late!" I am dropped quickly to the tile. Owl begins, what Alice says is, her ramble, "O-m-gosh, what time is it?" she holds up her wrist and releases a squeak. Like that video of the tiny rats Alice showed me once. Grex doesn't like rats, she thinks they're abnormal. "Rats shouldn't be this big." she complained, and then kicks one down an alley.

Owl leans down and hugs me, and Grex tells me to have fun. Whatever she thinks is fun. But all the things Grex thinks is fun, Owl says are bad. They confuse me sometimes. One of them likes getting hugged around her leg and the other will just put up with it. Owl likes action movies, Grex likes suspense. I love them both anyway, like Alice says to, and so I wave at Owl as she flies down the stairs and out the door.

The tall friend looks down at me with the small confused frown. His hazely-green eyes are cocked to the side the same way Crane does when he wants to know what crazy Alice is talking about.

"Not crazy." I mutter just as the smart man looks away. He doesn't hear, too distracted by… something. Adults are weird staring off into space when there's nothing there to- Oh he's looking at Fatman walking towards us. Smart man picks me up under my arms and places me behind a tall plant with leaves that stretch all around me.

He must not want Fatman to see me. Why?

Well Fatman obviously doesn't like him, and he really doesn't like me, I did bite him after all.

Edward

Naurus' eyes blaze from behind the foliage, but I can't stop and admire them. Because one, she would most likely be creeped out and run away and the second is one of my least favorite favorite coworkers. He seems to be in a remarkably bad mood today, perhaps Gordon did something to cause trouble again.

But luck is on my side for the time, and he continues on his path. Only snorting as he passes me.

A small voice comes from the plant, "Mister Nygma, c'n I come out?"

Looking over at the child I see her standing in a layer of dusty dirt. I feel myself blush, "Oh, o-of course child."

Surprisingly she glares at me with Greek fire blazing in her eyes, "Not Child, Nauru. My name's Nauru. Call me what you like, not child."

Ah, so Crane calls her that. Hopefully she lasts longer than his last batch of 'children'. Of course Ibis would kill him before he got the chance to do anything too nasty.

"Sorry Nuru, I didn't mean anything by it." I stare at the short dark haired child standing defiantly in the dirt. I smile more when it says, "Not Nuru! What's a Nuru?" She looks at me curiously before glancing down the hall (assuredly to look if anyone was listening) and asking in a whispery conpirital voice, "Are you deaf? Because Alice told me not to be rude to deaf people cause they won't hear all my awesomeness." The dark head of hair nods smartly as if what she said was the wisest piece of advice ever given to her.

Crane

Thick clouds of oxygen thin air hovers in front of my nose and mouth. It drifts forward without weight before the harsh wind I have anticipated snatches it away toward the village. My second to last destination before I can go home, hopefully with a deal in hand.

Date

Leather crunching on hard rock and ice is pattern I thought could never surpass, in levels of annoyance, the jabbering of children before a class. Not that people normally talked once entering my room to begin with, but the annoyance stands firm. My feet are numb and somehow sore before they ever hit the granite. I am beginning to wish my throbbing legs were numb as well. I had better be close or I will have to use my toxin for merely an adrenaline factor, and that would waste at least three months of work beside all the other complications that would arise.

I pulled off frost coated goggles earlier and visited the village looking like a raccoon. Perhaps I should use more vaseline.

For the most part locals are more trusting (which equals forthcoming) if they can see your eyes. Superstition in this part of the world is that demons take out the color and hide it away when they possess you. This unfortunate belief combined with my eye coloring, makes the more superstitious wives very uneasy around my presence. Their fear, coupled with my, as Ibis liked to say, "Wonderfully abrasive almost anti-socialness," well let us just leave it to say 'I have been slapped, punched, and one over-zealous woman threw a pan at me when I asked her for directions. She rather reminded me of Alice when I came (was abducted) for her quesh.

But if what 'Ra's' had told/threaten me was true, then I will live to see all of them again. If not then no-one will read this and Gotham will have fallen before anyone knows I'm gone.

* * *

Sorry, I'm so sorry but I'm done. With school and everything else, I don't have time to listen to this many people yelling in my head.

It's possible that I might (maybe) write a sequel. But this is where I've been planing to stop for a while.

Talk to me about what it is that made you need this many chapters, it'd be much appreciated.

This has been Grex, by Grex, toodles.


End file.
